It All Started With A Few Piercings
by Deaths.Last.Prayer
Summary: And now Naruto is at the pinnacle of everyone's attention. He'll thank Sasuke for it all... once he gets over the fact that the guy's a real bastard. SasuNaru... Discontinued. Inbox me for answers.
1. The Piercings

**Disclaimer: **I hold no ownership of Naruto and I certainly don't make any money for this.

* * *

**WARNING: **_Language. Adult Themes._ **  
**

* * *

**Pairings:** SasuNaru (main/Eventually), KakaIru, I'll figure out the rest later…

* * *

**ALL STARTED WITH A FEW PIERCINGS  
**

_One: The Piercings_**  
**

* * *

_Fuck my life._

Those were the words floating around Naruto's head as blue eyes glanced at nothing in particular as he laid on his couch. A soft smile touched his face when a little blond fox took a seat on his stomach, amber irises intently focused on Naruto.

Naruto sighed and ruffled the fox's fur. "I fucked up Kyu." _Royally_, he mentally added.

He was grateful that his fathers weren't home because he wasn't in the mood to explain to them why possibly the entire Hyuuga clan was going to slaughter him. He would only have himself to blame if the Hyuuga clan really _did_ come after him and he probably deserved the maiming. Naruto heaved another sigh and rolled onto his side, snorting when the little fox growled at him for moving.

He thought about Hinata and buried his head into the cushion. Where was his self-control?

How had he let the shy Hinata Hyuuga seduce him?

Naruto truly didn't understand it.

He had planned to go over to Hinata's house for a study session because she was always his "go to" person when it came to studying. She kept him in line and on task. In retrospect, he should've known it was a setup when_ Hinata_ had orchestrated the study session. She never organized hang outs herself because of her anxiety and that was fine with Naruto. He was more than capable of taking the lead in their friendship to the point that the girl's forwardness about studying should've surprised him.

It'd gone right over his head.

But Naruto thought nothing of the odd behavior and had promptly showed up at her house, books in hand.

He couldn't stop the smile that formed as he remembered showing up at her front door to see Hinata and (dear God) was she gorgeous. He'd always thought she was cute, shy girls always were, but a few hours ago Hinata Hyuuga was downright sexy. Who knew she'd had it in her? Naruto had stood on her doorstep for a full five minutes openly gaping. It was only when he dropped his history book and it fell square on his foot that he'd been able to snap out of it.

Naruto had never pegged himself as a hormonally, uncontrollable, teenage boy like others (Sasuke) that he knew but everyone has their moment of weakness.

The afternoon with Hinata was going to be his first, last, and only slip.

The minute he glanced from her rosy cheeks down to the halter-top that showed its fair share of cleavage and a smooth ivory stomach with a bellybutton that had an earring dangling vicariously from its cleft, blood began to rush southbound like it was enchanted. Hell, it probably was. By the time his baby blue irises noted that she was wearing a tiny frill skirt that was an inch or two from showing her panties, he was as hard as a rock.

He'd thanked god for sweatpants.

A miserable laugh was muffled by the couch. How had he not once thought that any of that was suspicious? He growled as he sat up, his mind still playing images from when he'd been with Hinata and, faintly, Naruto could hear Sasuke calling him a moron.

Suffice to say, no studying had been achieved.

None whatsoever.

A few _harmless_ touches here and there, enough flirting to fill a jar with corny one liners, and several awkward pauses had ended with he and Hinata going at it like rabbits on speed. Everywhere. They had sex in her study, in her bathroom when they were supposed to be cleaning up, in her bedroom when they'd tried to go change, and in the shower when they cleaned up for a second time. But that wasn't the bad part of the day, not by a long shot. The thing to end the afternoon/evening and cause Naruto to start his weekend as _the most horrible weekend of his young life_ was when Hinata had asked if they were now considered a couple.

And he'd stuttered out a no before getting the fuck out of dodge.

The end result: Hinata wouldn't answer his calls, his texts, his messages of any type, and Naruto felt like shit.

He sighed for the umpteenth time and sat up to lean back into the couch. "What should I do Kyu?"

The little golden fox tilted his head to the side and looked as though it shrugged before trotting off of Naruto's lap and out of the room.

"I'm such an asshole…" Naruto kicked his feet up onto the table and frowned. Being an asshole was so not his thing.

He was supposed to be the fun one, the goofy one, the charismatic charmer who had a heart of gold, the admirable moral fool who preached of love and friendship until he was shitting daises... not the asshole who slept with girls and dumped them all in the same day.

That was Sasuke's area of expertise.

It royal sucked that he'd placed himself and Hinata in such a situation because he had no idea how to rectify it or salvage it before it got worse. And he just knew that it would most definitely get worse. Hinata wouldn't answer his calls (granted, if he were her he wouldn't answer either)! But was he supposed to keep calling Hinata? Texting her? Maybe it would be easier for the both of them if he just kept leaving private messages on her HOTplace page…

If there was ever a time when he really needed the sardonic, yet thoughtful, Shikamaru Nara to bail him out (because honestly, Shikamaru bailed him out of everything), now would be it.

Naruto glared in the direction of the door when the doorbell rang and pretending to not be home was an option at the forefront of mind. He didn't feel like getting up and if he wasn't careful, he could be letting his executioner into his home without even putting up a fight. Still...

"COME IN!" It was now or never and he'd rather be punished now than to be paranoid and skittish about it later.

He listened as the door opened and shoes were kicked to the side and he smiled when Sasuke walked into the living room with an eyebrow raised. Naruto had never been so happy to see Sasuke in his life (which wasn't exactly true but, well, technicalities).

"Idiot, what are you smiling about?" Sasuke glanced at Naruto before smirking when the boy's smile was quickly replaced by a scowl.

"Bastard. See if I greet you nicely the next time I invite you into my home, if there'll even be a next time."

Sasuke shrugged and pushed past Naruto's outstretched legs to sit on the other side of him. "See if I waste gas on coming to see you a _next time_."

"Of course you will!" Naruto waved his hand dismissively. Sasuke always made threats that he couldn't keep... "Now, what the hell do you want?"

Sasuke scoffed and turned to glare at the blond. "You'd know if you answered your fucking phone or checked your fucking messages. Seriously, it's getting fucking ridiculous that every time someone wants to get a hold of you they have to go out and find you. Why do you even have a phone if you're never going to answer it?"

"I just don't answer for you because you're so sexy when you're all worked up like this and you know how much I love angry sex. Rawr!" Naruto laughed and winced when Sasuke punched him in the arm- hard.

"I don't know why I bother with such a moron." Onyx irises were fixed in a glare but it faltered after a second or so and a smirk took its place. "What the hell were you doing here by yourself anyway, jacking off?"

"No jackass. I haven't been here all day, I was at Hinata's..." The words died in Naruto's throat as he flushed and looked away from Sasuke.

He wasn't sure if he should even tell Sasuke about the incident with Hinata lest he wanted to end up even more confused and pissed off than he currently was. Even if he did tell the boy he just knew that he'd be given crap advice and the wrong type of encouragement. It was a lose-lose situation. Sasuke was good at a lot of things but affairs of the heart just weren't one of them.

Briefly Naruto wondered how Sasuke had become his best friend in the first place when he was so useless.

"At Hinata's? It's Friday. Why would you need help studying on a Friday? Unless… you wanted to be alone with Hinata…" Dark eyes widened slightly before Sasuke began to outright laugh when he got a glimpse of Naruto's "dear caught in the headlights" expression.

Naruto flushed a brilliant shade of red as memories of him "being alone" with Hinata flooded his mind. Damn Sasuke. "I- We- Uh..." His brain chose that very moment to malfunction because really, there was nothing for him to say.

"Thought so." Sasuke held the assumption that the two were just friends but maybe he was wrong.

There was a first time for everything.

"It's not what you think." Naruto huffed and folded his arms over his chest. "I don't even wanna tell you…" Pink lips pursed as he wished to the stars above that Shika had walked into his living room instead of Sasuke.

At least then something useful would come out of the impending conversation.

"Go ahead. I won't say anything until you're done talking."

Naruto slowly turned back to face Sasuke, scarlet still tinting his cheeks as he eyed the boy suspiciously. "I went to her house expecting to study but, you know, there was no studying. We kinda…" He couldn't say it out loud because that would make everything so- so real? Serious? Naruto wanted to scream into a pillow.

"You kind of what?" Ebony eyes twinkled with mirth as they watched Naruto's blush deepen with each passing second. It was that reaction that had easily answered Sasuke's question.

Naruto and Hinata _had _fucked!

"You know…" Naruto knew that Sasuke was a bastard but why- why was he trying to make him say it?

"You fucked her." The littlest Uchiha chuckled heartily because Naruto was officially redder than a tomato.

And Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. He went to Naruto's house to see if the boy wanted to hangout with him but this- this was more than enough to pass the time with. It was priceless. He couldn't buy this kind of entertainment and thought it was at the expense of his best friend, he couldn't help it. He laughed harder as he thought of the shy Hyuuga heiress and a clumsy, naïve, Naruto fumbling around in a bed together and trying to figure out how to lose their virginity.

Sasuke's laugh increased tenfold when he thought of his father and how ashamed the man would be if he saw how much his "Uchiha mask of indifference" _slipped_ whenever he was around Naruto Uzumaki. The man would surely shit bricks.

"It's not funny bastard. I think I really hurt her feelings."

Sasuke's laughter slowly came to a halt when he sensed that things were about taking a turn in a serious direction. "How? Did you break up with her afterwards?" Sasuke almost smirked, almost, but then he noticed how guilty Naruto looked. "You're shitting me." The day was getting more interesting by the minute.

"We were never a couple, I mean, this just sort of happened. She just looked so… well… I don't know how to explain it but when we were talking we were kinda flirting… Clichéd one thing led to another clichéd thing and… yea. Afterwards, she asked if we were a couple and I had to tell her no because I don't like Her in that way… I don't know what to do Sasuke." Naruto sighed in defeat as he leaned forward, his face meeting his palms.

He'd fucked up and saying it aloud was only confirmation that yes, he'd royally _fucked up_.

Sasuke took a moment to stare at Naruto before he loosely wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders. He knew that Naruto wasn't the type of person who slept around. That was the type of shit that _he_ did on a regular basis. Naruto, on the other hand couldn't so much as glare at someone without feeling guilty about it until he made things right. Sasuke didn't always understand because he never had any regrets about his actions, nor did he ever feel guilt for doing what he did. Life was too short to dwell. But he supposed Naruto's empathy was one of the reasons he valued him so much as a friend.

Sasuke sighed and glanced at Naruto. He wouldn't really be of any help in this particular situation because his opinions on relationships and the like always clashed with Naruto's. Especially when it came to their views on what the right reaction or response to do was. "If I were you, I'd chalk it up to one hell of a first time and get started on the next best thing." Because that had been what he'd done after he lost his virginity. There were just too many other options out in the world to settle on one person. "But I know that that's not your thing so I don't know what to tell you."

"You're absolutely no help." Naruto bit his bottom lip in frustration. Again, he had to wonder why Sasuke was one of his best friends?

"I have an idea… get up loser, we're going out." Sasuke stood and stretched, his joints popping as his shirt rose to reveal his taut midriff.

Naruto stared appreciatively before he shook his head. He blamed the offset of his hormones for his leering… that had to be it. "Why? What are you trying to make me do now? And how the hell is going out going to help me?" Naruto stood up anyway and cautiously followed the youngest Uchiha.

He was always wary of Uchiha outings, more so when it came to Sai or Itachi than Sasuke but still… For some reason, Uchihas always took him to weird places with even weirder people. Naruto shuddered. Some of those places still haunted his dreams. He thought about the last time he'd went along with Sasuke and Itachi when they'd attempted to "cheer" him up after he and Kiba got into a fight. It was made very obvious then that their idea of being "cheered up" was completely different from his.

Or anyone else for that matter.

Sasuke opened the door pausing briefly as he thought about telling Naruto where they were going. Nah. "It's a surprise but trust me, it'll take your mind off of this bullshit." He knew Naruto would follow regardless.

"Damn it Sasuke, if you're taking me to some fucked up hole in the wall then I swear on my Anime collection that I'll kick your ass and tell your mom about your porn collection?"

Sasuke pretended not to hear Naruto and unlocked his car.

"I'm serious Sasuke." Naruto didn't trust the boy when it came to easing away his worries like any normal person was capable of doing.

In fact, he doubted any Uchiha was a _normal person_ because they all had quirks that the average person avoided. Sasuke's quirk was his choice in being around crazy people, shit-hole places, and indulging in questionable activities, all of which were odd, dark, or insane- sometimes a mixture of all three. In fact, Naruto didn't know where or what Sasuke would be doing with his life had they not met. Which, granted, Naruto was glad that he was there as the voice of reason except for one minor detail about Sasuke's odd habits: he was always the one who ended up in some kind of trouble whenever he was dragged along for the ride.

Whether it was being chased by Sasuke's psycho ex, getting stranded at a strange drug themed party, or chilling at a cemetery where Naruto just knew there would be ghost- he always got the short end of the stick.

Life was so unfair.

* * *

Azure irises watched as the scenery rushed by and Naruto cringed once he realized where the were headed: Oto. He hated going to that crime infested, run down city. He wouldn't even wish for his worst enemies to get stranded there. But, for reasons he couldn't quite fathom, his best friend loved Oto and spent a lot of time in that particular city when he wasn't with Naruto or their other mutual friends. Naruto didn't know why the hell a smug, rich, bastard like Sasuke enjoyed such a disgusting place but he assumed it had something to do with the boy's personality. Sasuke was a rebel in every sense of the word and, if he could, he would bring Naruto down with him.

Naruto shook his head of such thoughts and his eyes widened when Sasuke suddenly drove into an alleyway.

Was he trying to make it easier for them to potentially be ambushed and killed? Sure, they could both hold their own in a fight but Oto people fought dirty.

"Relax Naruto. You'll be fine." Sasuke parked and climbed out of the car with Naruto hesitantly following suit.

Naruto scowled as he followed Sasuke. The only reason Sasuke was able to relax was because he was used to this dump. Naruto didn't know how many times he'd thought it since they passed the sign that said "Welcome to Oto" but, he truly, truly, loathed being in the city. He followed Sasuke down the alleyway until they paused outside of a door at an old rundown building. Naruto read the bright red and black sign nailed above the door carefully: "Suigetsu's Art Shop."

Who the hell was crazy enough to put an art shop in such a crappy part of Oto?

Sasuke reached for the door and stopped as his dark eyes gazed down at Naruto. "This is it… but I'm not sure someone like you can handle what I have in mind." He'd laid the bait and it never took Naruto long to bite.

"What? Why?" Naruto huffed indignantly. Anything that Sasuke could do he sure as hell could and he knew he'd do it ten times better.

Sasuke inwardly smirked knowing that Naruto had taken the bait. "You might chicken out and it might be best if I saved us the time now." But, knowing his friend, the boy would go through with this no matter what.

"You wish, jackass. I can do anything that you can do and I'll do it better. Come on, let's go inside." The younger boy quickly walked into the building with Sasuke following behind him.

"Your choice."

Naruto nodded. "Yea, it is."

A man with silver hair wearing a tight fitting white shirt and black leather pants stared at them- or rather Naruto. "May I help you?" And then he noticed the boy standing beside the blond. "Sasuke, my man! Ya here to get some more work done?"

"Not today Suigetsu, I just want him to get a few things done." He nodded towards Naruto who stood beside him, blue eyes glancing around the room. "Can you do it for me?"

Suigetsu walked over to them and looked Naruto over.

Naruto was confused. This guy, Suigetsu was it, was looking at him like he wanted to eat him and it was freaking him out because the guy actually looked like he _could_ eat him. He was tall and slender with silver hair, shark like teeth, a lot of piercings but, worst of all, he had a perverted leer. Naruto knew a pervert when he saw one. More so after years of hanging around his uncle Jiraiya and his papa Kakashi. He'd even developed pervert "senses".

And they were tingling.

"He's already cute but what did you have in mind?" Suigetsu eyed Naruto again before he looked over at Sasuke.

"His right brow, tongue, and four in his left ear, he'll look fine with that right?" Sasuke stared at Naruto to make sure those were all the things the blond would look best with. Suigetsu was right, Naruto was cute but with a few changes, he could be sexy.

Wait… what?

Naruto just stared at the two still as confused as he was when they'd first walked in. What the hell were they trying to do to him? "What the fuck is going on?"

"I'm getting you some piercings dumbass? Where'd you think we were?"

Naruto gaped. Piercings? When the hell had he agreed to that? Oh… the minute he'd opened the door to the "art shop" he'd already sold his soul to the devil a.k.a. Sasuke.

"Hmm… Yea, he'll look fuckable. Alright gorgeous, I'm Suigetsu and you can follow me to the back." He smiled and walked behind a curtain.

Cerulean eyes glared in the direction of the swishing curtain. _"He said I'd look fuckable!"_ He'd heard people say a lot of shit about him over the years but fuckable? That was kinda new…

Then again, Gaara told him quite often how fuck worthy he thought Naruto was but that was different. Gaara had no filter when it came to separating his thoughts from what was appropriate to say aloud and Naruto liked him that way.

Sasuke was glaring in the same direction as the boy beside him for his own reasons but he quickly shook his head and stared at Naurto, smirk playing at his lips. "You scared?"

"Nope." Naruto was lying through his teeth but Sasuke didn't need to know that.

They entered a room with a dentist chair, needles, and other things Naruto couldn't quite identify, all he knew was that he didn't want to be anywhere near them. Sasuke had conned him into a lot of things over the course of their friendship but this- this was an entirely different type of con. He was definitely telling Mikoto about Sasuke's porn collection. That would teach the bastard a lesson.

Suigetsu adjusted the chair a bit and looked at the boys with a toothy grin. "Alright blondie, sit here and in about 5 to 10 minutes you'll look like a new person."

Naruto sat down and cautiously before his gaze drifted to Sasuke. He wondered if the window of opportunity for him to run away like his gut was telling him to was closed.

"I'll be right here so just relax." Sasuke smiled a reassuring smile and Naruto began to do as he was told.

How couldn't he when his best friend asked him something like that using a foreign gentle tone?

"Alright." Naruto sighed. It wasn't too often that Sasuke held such an expression. So, when Sasuke smiled, he knew everything would be just fine… "I'm ready." Naruto looked up at Suigetsu signaling that he was ready or at least as ready as he could be.

The man grinned and began to mark Naruto's face. "Good. Just be as calm as you can and this will be over in no time."

* * *

**Eleven Minutes Later**

* * *

Naruto looked in the mirror at his "new" face and decided that he liked it so far. He wanted to smile (he really, really, wanted to smile) but he was in pain. He had a ear spliting headache and a pulsing numb tongue that felt huge in his mouth. He sat down in the waiting area and watched as Suigetsu and Sasuke talked about- about something. His head hurt too much to really pay attention. What Naruto could focus on was the overwhelming urge that he had to throttle Sasuke and then hug his lifeless corpse. The notion was knawing at him as seconds ticked by.

How was it even possible for Sasuke to be both a blessing and a curse?

Naruto sighed. At least the youngest Uchiha was paying for the makeover. It was the very least he could do. But was all of the pain truly worth it? Naruto rolled his eyes and laid his head back against the chair because he knew that yes, it really was. He let eyes shut and his mind wander. He was tired and he didn't want to think about anything besides falling a sleep in his big comfy bed.

Dark eyes glanced at Naruto and Sasuke's lips quirked ever so slightly. It was apparent that the boy wasn't thinking about anything, least of all Hinata. Mission accomplished. "Thanks Suigetsu, I owe you one. Let Juugo know that I'll be back next week to get my outline filled in."

Suigetsu smirked as he handed Sasuke all the necessary cleaning supplies for Naruto's piercings. "It's no problem. I didn't have any customers scheduled for now anyway." He followed Sasuke's line of sight. "So… is that kid one of yours?"

"Naruto?" Sasuke openly laughed. He and Naruto? A couple? Sure, their friends teased them about it on occasion and sure, sometimes they played things up a bit to tease everyone else but Sasuke had a girlfriend and Naruto… well, Naruto had his own thing going on. They were just friends- best friends- nothing more and nothing less. "No, he's not. Besides, you've met Sakura." Sasuke smirked as he thought about the girl.

Boy did he have a _girlfriend_.

"Yea, well, that's never stopped you before." Suigetsu shrugged. "But, since he's not yours, I think you should let me have a go at him." He grinned as he continued eying the blond seated in the lobby.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Suigetsu would've sworn that the temperature drop several degrees. "Watch your tongue, I wouldn't want you to lose this business." Sasuke's frosty tone and glare were enough to make anyone ball into themselves and Suigetsu was no exception.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Sorry… didn't mean to push any buttons." He smiled apologetically. "Now, remember to tell him to leave his earrings in for at least 6 months, the tongue ring for a year if he wants to make sure it'll stay, and he has to apply these daily so they don't get infected. The sea salt is for his tongue and the disinfectant is for his ear and brow. No solid food for the next week or so and I'll see you next time you come in."

"Cool." Sasuke walked over to Naruto and shook him lightly.

Naruto cracked his bright blue eyes open and smiled a bit as Sasuke helped him up. "I'm gonna kick… your ass…" Naruto slurred out as they walked out of the store, he'd sworn on his Anime collection that he would do so and he didn't want anything bad to happen to it.

"You'll thank me later." Sasuke smirked and helped Naruto down the alleyway. He had to admit that Suigetsu was right about one thing: Naruto looked nothing short of fuckable.

* * *

They drove back to Naruto's house with the sun setting behind them. If the youngest Uchiha was a romantic and Naruto wasn't moaning in pain, he'd deem their little car ride amorous.

Naruto, on the other hand, just wanted to go lay down somewhere and fall asleep so he could forget about being in pain. Sure, it probably wasn't that bad but his tongue was throbbing and numb and... yea. He wanted to go to bed.

Sasuke smirked as he pulled into Naruto's driveway and handed the lithe blond some Tylenol and a bottle of water. "Here, take this. It should help with the pain."

"You're so handy."

Sasuke snorted. Of course he was. It was important to keep such things handy, especially with a brother like Itachi and a cousin like Sai.

Naruto took the pills and downed the water. "Thanks. This shit hurts but, if I'm not any sexier than usual, I'm gonna kill you for lying." He forced a painful grin as Sasuke got out and walked over to his side of the car to help him.

"You'll like it when the pain goes away, I promise." Hell, Sasuke liked the piercings on Naruto more than the blond probably did. His mind was already imagining what Naruto could do with that tongue ring or how it would feel if they kissed and he had the chance to suck on that cold- whoa, whoa, whoa… Sasuke paused in that train of thought and shook his head ruefully.

What the hell was wrong with him today? Sasuke honestly wanted to know.

Naruto was his best friend and just because the boy had a makeover it didn't mean that it was okay to fuck around with him. Physical attraction or not. Sasuke blanched again. He'd thought it… he was physically attracted to Naruto. He could live with that. It was nothing new. There was so much potential in Naruto being a great lover and if he wasn't so loud, obnoxious, and naïve, Sasuke just knew that he'd be a deal breaker with all of the ladies… and men (though he never seemed to have any trouble in that department).

"I don't see you with your fucking eyebrow or tongue pierced, just a million fucking holes covering your ears. I knew you were responsible for Sakura's nose ring." Naruto unlocked his front door and went inside. He flopped down on the couch, too tired to even think about crawling up the steps.

Sasuke sat down beside Naruto and turned on the TV. "No, she wanted it done and I encouraged her to do it. The reason I don't have my brow or tongue pierced is because it wouldn't look right on me. Seriously, could you see me with my eyebrow pierced?"

Naruto was expecting some sort of haughty reply and he got one. Sasuke never just let him win. "I guess I look alright but I'll know tomorrow, won't I 'Suke?" Naruto yawned and laid his head on Sasuke's shoulder, his bright eyes blinking tiredly.

Sasuke turned to answer him and wasn't surprised when he saw that the boy was asleep. "You're such a bad host Naruto." The young Uchiha glanced at the boy he called his best friend and he smiled.

Sasuke thought Naruto was gorgeous, with or without the piercings but the little bit of edge he'd gained... it was nice.Next time they went out, he'd convince the boy to get his belly pierced. He could see it now and the image was a welcomed one. Gently, Sasuke stood up and laid Naruto down on the couch. He grabbed a spare blanket from the side of the couch and put it over Naruto before he left the house. Who knew what would have happened if he would've stayed there any longer just watching the boy sleep.

And to think it all started with a few piercings…

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **And there you have it, the first chapter remade as shall the rest of the fic be. I'd been unhappy with this for quite some time but I've finally fixed it in a way that I'm happy with. This first chapter has changed a bit but there will be parts that haven't changed at all. A majority of the original story and plot have changed to make more sense and to create a more natural relationship between the characters. Anyway, here's the story, all nine original chapters re-vamped and ready. If you wish to be personally updated, please leave your e-mail address and I will do so, or if you don't want other people knowing your e-mail, e-mail/PM me.

* * *

**If you dig it, drop me a line. **


	2. Ch Ch Ch Changes

**WARNING: **_Language. Corny innuendo. A slew of cheese-tastic moments. A wee bit of SasuSaku._

* * *

**ALL STARTED WITH A FEW PIERCINGS  
**

_Two: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes_**  
**

* * *

Blue eyes flew open as Naruto frantically glanced around the dark room when his front door banged open and then slammed shut. Who the hell had… his eyes caught sight of the clock and he breathed out a sigh of relief. It was probably just his parents.

Or maybe it was someone else?

He didn't recall locking the door... and vaguely he remembered being woken up by Kakashi earlier. The man had said something about doing something else or going… somewhere.

But what if they were being robbed?

What if he needed to kick someone's ass? But what if they had a weapon and he didn't even have a bat… or Sasuke for that matter?

When the kitchen cabinets slammed shut and Naruto heard muttering akin to Iruka's he relaxed. They weren't being robbed and he wouldn't have to kick anyone's ass. Not even Sasuke's for not being there to use as a shield.

Life was good.

Naruto sat up and swore when he realized his tongue felt stiff, fat, and awkward in his mouth… and there was a puddle of drool where his head had been. It was gross but there was nothing that he could do about it now. With that in mind, Naruto stood up and stretched his aching limbs after thanking whatever holy deity that resided in the sky for not letting him wake up with his face stuck to a spring. They badly needed a new couch. He made his way into the kitchen to greet Iruka and was surprised to see the man angrily baking. In fact, Iruka only baked when he was upset and Naruto knew it couldn't have been his fault because Iruka hadn't seen him yet.

Maybe Kakashi had done something…

Naruto leaned in the doorway of the kitchen. "Dad?"

Iruka looked up at him and smiled before he returned his attention to the bowl of batter that he was mixing. He must've been really pissed if he hadn't even noticed the adjustments Sasuke had so kindly bought for Naruto's face. Had he, Naruto would've been lectured to death a million times over within the last minute. He wasn't awake enough to fend his nagging father off least of all incur his wrathful poking and prodding as punishment.

If this _was_ Kakashi's fault, he would thank the man later.

"You okay?"

Iruka sat down his mixing bowl and wiped his hands on his apron before pulling Naruto in a quick hug. "Ah, well… I'm alright. How was your day? Did I wake you?"

"I didn't do much and I was already up so no harm there. You sure you're okay?" Naruto cocked his head to the side and stared at his silently seething father. Again, he could thank his lucky stars that such ire was not directed at him.

"It's just Kakashi, nothing too serious." The brunet's smile faltered, his brow creasing as he spoke of the man. "Do you know where he is?"

Bingo!

Naruto glanced at the cake batter on the counter top and dipped his finger in it. "He went out with the old pervert and the old hag." He sucked the sweet filling off of his finger and turned curious blue eyes to Iruka. "So, if it's nothing, what's with the baking?"

"I'm sorry. It's really nothing-"

"Dad." Naruto's azure irises met chestnut and Iruka sighed.

Naruto knew how much his parents didn't like concerning him with _their_ problems, whether big or small, but it did them no good to hide their disagreements. Kakashi didn't mind talking to Naruto about these things and they spoke man to man where as Iruka... Iruka wanted to baby him. But Naruto was no longer a child who needed to be shielded from the evils of the world. But his dad… his handsome, nurturing, father who loved him more than life allowed room for often saw Naruto as nothing more than his baby when in reality Naruto was a breath away from graduating from high school.

Naruto heaved a mental sigh as he waited for Iruka to say something to him, anything, and he didn't care if it took him a lifetime to hear it. He just wanted some sign that Iruka viewed him as more than a troublesome brat or a meddlesome child.

As Iruka stared into those big blue eyes he knew he'd have to fess up, even if it was just a little bit. "I've just had a very long and stressful day thanks to not only _Kakashi_ but my new TA as well. She doesn't know how to do much other than flirt with _your father_ and the students. And _your father_ should know better than to encourage such behavior but don't worry about that, I'll be fine. We'll be fine." Iruka leaned against the countertop and stared at the bowl of cake batter. "Once I bake this cake, everything will come into prospective and I'll calm down."

Naruto nodded. "Well, if baking doesn't work out for you, you can talk to me."

"I know. You're a good kid Naru." Iruka frowned as he stared at his son and noticed the glinting near the boy's eyebrow. He grabbed Naruto's chin and pulled him closer to inspect his face. Iruka's frown deepened as he released him. "Didn't do much today, huh?"

Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yea… Sasuke took me to get it done and he paid for it. I dunno… Do I look okay?" Puppy dog eyes pinned Iruka and Naruto saw it the instant the brunet caved.

If Iruka was going to treat him like a child when it was convenient then Naruto would play up the role on those same grounds.

Brown eyes roved over Naruto's once boyish face and a soft smile tugged at Iruka's lips. "You look fine but I would've liked some kind of warning that I'd be coming home to find my little Naru all grown up. I guess I'll have to get used to it but it doesn't mean that I have to like it." Iruka picked up his cake mix and began stirring it again. "And yes, that does mean that I'm going to call Anko to tell her what you did today." He ignored the oncoming puppy face as he focused on his baking.

"Dad… you can't tell Anko. You know how she is." Naruto shivered in horror as he thought of the woman pulling on his piercings or adding new ones for messing up his "angelic face" as she tended to call it.

"But I must. You're her favorite nephew and she asked about you yesterday but I had nothing new to tell her. Now, however, is different. I know she'll love to hear about what you've done to your _angelic_ face." Iruka chuckled as he watched Naruto turn towards the staircase dramatically.

"You're such a gossip. I'm going to bed." If Naruto was right about anything on this day it was the fact that Sasuke always got him into some kind of trouble and he was just dumb enough to be strung along.

"Love you too and sleep well Naru." Iruka smiled gently as Naruto glanced back at him.

"Night dad, love you."

* * *

Naruto hated mornings, or rather, afternoons because he never woke up earlier than noon during the weekends. He contemplated rolling out of bed to make some kind of breakfast or staying there for another hour before ordering take-out. Take-out would be his safest bet but now he wasn't even tired anymore…

"Ugh..." He groaned into his pillow wishing for sleep but feeling wide awake.

If Iruka and Kakashi hadn't picked up weekends then he'd be enjoying a perfect homemade breakfast that would jump start his morning. He frowned just thinking about where they were. Who the hell would possibly want to go to school on the weekends? Naruto felt sorry for the students and teachers at KU who were there on such a nice day.

Then it hit him: he would be one of them, a Konoha University student, by the end of summer.

Graduation was in less than three weeks, three, and Naruto wasn't sure if he was ready. There were so many things that he needed to do, that he needed to figure out, and he only had a little bit of time left to do it in. There were friendships that needed to be mended or explored, there were people he wanted to get to know, and there were places he wanted to go to before he was officially deemed an adult and put out into the world.

There was also Sasuke…

Naruto sighed and glanced around his room. He would be leaving his parents home to live in a dorm with people he didn't know and yes, the thought was both exciting and overwhelming because he'd never really been on his own before. Growing up was going to be an interesting journey, he knew this. Naruto couldn't wait. The boxer clad boy yawned and lazily climbed out of bed before stretching. Something told him that it was going to be a very long Saturday and, despite his aversion to mornings, he should enjoy it whilst he could.

Today Naruto was going to attempt talking to Hinata. Again. She still hadn't answered any of his phone calls or text messages and she'd even blocked him from her HOTplace page. So far, he'd been shit out of luck when it came to talking to Hinata. What was worse was than not being able to apologize or discuss things with the Hyuuga heiress was the possibility of being hunted down by her family (a family that consisted of many healthy, strong, and overprotective men) before he was able to attempt rectifying their friendship. They wouldn't even hear him out before pouncing, this Naruto knew with absolute certainty. He'd heard the rumors long before he befriended the Hyuuga's and he didn't doubt them.

A shudder crept down his spine at the thought.

Maybe Neji would have mercy on him because they were close. Maybe…

Naruto's stomach chose that moment to remind him of why he was up in the first place. "Come on Kyu, let's go order something yummy…"He smiled as the little fox jumped out of it's bed and brushed up against his legs.

He would start his day off with a meal before thinking about anything else. Maybe Ichiraku? He could hear a steaming bowl of ramen calling for him. Naruto ran down the steps and would have happily slid into the kitchen had he not rounded the steps and been scared shitless by two of his nearest and dearest friends: Shikamaru and Ino. The two were sitting on the island in the middle of his kitchen, eating out of his favorite tub of ice cream, and staring at him expectantly.

"GAH!" Naruto yelped.

Shikamaru shook his head before scooping another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "It took you long enough to wake up."

Ino hopped off the island and waltzed over to Naruto, her fingers tilting his head this way and that as she inspected his face. "WOW!" She had heard from Sakura, who had heard from Sasuke, that he'd gotten a makeover, and Ino wanted to be sure that she was one of the first people to see him. "Wow… You look sexy…" Ino's aqua orbs twinkled with glee as she released Naruto from her grasp. "I love it!"

Shikamaru examined his friend from where he was seated. "How troublesome… you let Sasuke bait you into another ridiculous challenge and you dove in head first, didn't you?" He didn't have to ask to know that the answer to that question was a solid _yes._ It was the natural progression of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, as troublesome as that was. Still, Shikamaru thought it an interesting dynamic that those two had.

Naruto turned from Ino and walked over to the lazy boy seated on his counter. "Shika!" He grabbed broad shoulders and frowned. "Why weren't _you_ there to save me?" Naruto relied on Shikamaru the most when it came to talking him out of the things Sasuke so easily talked him into.

He should've just called him.

Ino smiled as she went back to eating her ice cream. "He was too lazy to do much of anything yesterday Naru and you… well, you wouldn't answer your fucking phone." She flicked ice cream at him and he easily dodged it.

"Don't feel bad Ino, I didn't have it on me. Sasuke just fucking showed up and did _this_," He waved at his face, "to me. And where were you Shika, where were you?"

Shikamaru shrugged and glanced at Ino. "Watching movies with her and Kiba while they waited for you to call us back. It was only interesting when they started pulling their hair out and arguing about who you'd call first but really, you didn't miss anything. And you should thank me for not letting them come over here to check on you because I'm sure they both would've kicked your ass." Shikamaru smirked. "That aside, I can't save you from everything you get yourself into, Naru. You're going to have to say 'no' to Sasuke one of these days." That smirk shifted into a soft smile as Naruto's arms wrapped about his waist.

"You promised! You said you'd do everything for me that I couldn't do for myself…" Naruto frowned up at the brunet as his blue eyes sparkled. All he really wanted to do was laugh.

That promise had been made when they were too shitfaced to tell the difference between what they were saying aloud and their actual thoughts.

Ino watched as Shikamaru ran his hand fondly through blond hair as he mocked contemplating the validity of making such a promise. An amused expression crossed her face when Shika turned the blond's face to look at his piercings before shaking his head and denying ever promising anything of the sort. Naruto feigned crying and _sobbed_ into Shikamaru's crotch. Shikamaru ignored him and shared a look with Ino- one that asked her to spare him.

Ino smiled. As if she would miss out on a chance to watch Shikamaru succumb to Naruto's dramatics. She was used to their antics and nothing had really changed since they'd been in elementary school. She, Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru had been a group of friends, the best of friends, since Kindergarten or so and she hoped that things would never change.

With a slight shake of her head, Ino smiled. "You did promise Shika."

Shikamaru frowned before turning back to Naruto. "Don't you want to know why we're here?"

Naruto glanced at the two, his urge to annoy Shikamaru briefly forgotten. "Yea. Why the hell are you bothering me this early?"

Ino's face brightened and she pushed away the ice cream she'd been dutifully eating. "I was thinking that we could go to the club tonight and I could make you over clothing-wise. What d'ya say Naru?" What she really wanted to see was how Sasuke would react to Naruto when he was dressed provocatively. Naruto was attractive, everyone knew this but now… well, even she had to blush a little when she looked at him standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers.

So how was Sasuke doing?

Sure, she knew he had a girlfriend and said girlfriend was somewhat her friend. And sure, he was probably the biggest whore known to man but she could see the chemistry between her best friend and the sullen boy. Ino was positive that Sasuke liked Naruto far more than he let on. Her woman's intuition just knew it.

Sasuke had _liked_ Naruto since the day the two had met all of four years ago.

And Naruto... well, he might not have admitted it aloud but all the signs pointed towards his liking Sasuke in more than a platonic fashion. At least, all of the signs she'd come accustomed to seeing after being best friends with the boy since they were old enough to butcher spelling their names. First there was the ease of befriending Sasuke and elevating him to best friend status within the last year or so. Then there was the fact that they spent almost all of their time together within/outside of their groups of friends. Lastly was the fact that Naruto had tunnel vision when it came to all things Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto liking Sasuke wasn't a new thing in her opinion but she knew him well enough to know that Naruto would never bring it up. He knew Sasuke better than anyone else and that meant that he knew the boy's relationship pattern better than all of them combined. Ino would even guess that Naruto was ashamed of falling for the best friend everyone tended to fall for. That would be another reason he'd try to keep his feelings for Sasuke low-key. He wouldn't want to be _one of them_ even though he could never be just another groupie.

Naruto was so much more.

And Ino knew that those two- they were meant to be together. Sakura was a minor glitch in life's plan but it was Ino's new mission in life to fix set things right.

"I dunno…" Naruto looked at them suspiciously- he didn't want to waste money on clothes he didn't need.

"Sasuke's buying." Shikamaru knew that Naruto wouldn't mind playing dress up if someone else was paying for it. Namely Sasuke.

Naruto grinned. "Okay. Let me eat breakfast and hop in the shower and then we can go."

* * *

Emotionless jade irises stared at nothing in particular as the buzzing of a needle sounded throughout the shop. Gaara Sabaku was finally getting the tattoo of his family crest completed. Covering the entire span of his back was a black dragon engulfed in deep red and blue flames. It was the tattoo all of the Sabaku men were to have by their 18th birthday and Gaara was one year too late for the occasion but it mattered not. He was the head of his family.

The rules revolved around him.

It was Naruto Uzumaki who taught him that important lesson many years ago.

Naruto was his most treasured friend and, though he had relinquished the fight for Naruto's love, he still held a special place for the boy deep within his heart. After all, Gaara was the true culprit behind Naruto's loss of innocence. On the night of Naruto's 18th birthday it had happened. He'd taken Naruto in a way that no other before him had had the pleasures of doing. But that was a special moment shared between the two of them alone. If the Uchiha boy were smart, he would've been the one to handle such a task but, alas, Sasuke still wasn't ready to accept that he was the one meant for Naruto.

In fact, neither of the two knew just how deeply their feelings went for one another and this irritated Gaara.

"I'm done." Juugo, Gaara's personal tattoo artist, had finally finished the Sabaku heirloom: the family crest.

"I'll see you next week. I have some more work I want done." Gaara didn't wait for a response as he removed himself from the room and he didn't need to for his word was law in Sunagakure.

It was high time he visited his dear friend.

* * *

Sasuke entered his brother's old room and shuddered. Everything was so… dark. As dark as it'd been when Itachi had lived with them- more so now that he was visiting. "Itachi, I need you to do me a favor."

Itachi cocked a dark eyebrow. "It depends on what it is and if it's more important than my business meeting." In other words, he was about to get laid and he would need a damn good excuse to pass it up.

Sasuke took a moment to think about whether or not he even wanted to ask Itachi for favor. Or maybe it'd be best to just tell Naruto that he'd be a bit late... "I'm supposed to meet Naruto at the mall but Sakura called and I need to stop at her house. Can you go meet him and get him what he wants, I'll pay you back?"

There was always a risk when asking Itachi to do anything for him because paying the man back meant paying interest… interest that was never fair. Still, Itachi liked Naruto and vice versa. He was also keen to fashion trends and had the money to buy Naruto what he wanted in Sasuke's steed. It was either Itachi or Sai and option number one was the lesser of two evils. In fact, he would rather get cancer and rot on the side of the road than ask Sai for favor.

That boy's idea of interest wasn't even legal.

"Naruto?" Itachi smirked. "My meeting can wait an hour or so but you owe me little brother." Itachi enjoyed Naruto's company because the boy delighted him and could keep up with his wit. He wouldn't lose any sleep over being an hour late for a quick screw.

"Thanks, I'll see you later." Sasuke left his brother's room and, for some reason, he thought maybe he'd have been better off asking Sai to look after his moron- interest and all.

* * *

"Sasu! I missed you." Sakura kissed Sasuke firmly on the lips as they tumbled inside and towards the couch.

Sasuke smirked as he pinned her to the sofa before he went back to trailing kisses down her sensitive neck. She was going to be pissed once he told her they'd have to wait to finish fucking around later but he was hoping this would distract her for the time being. Briefly, his eyes glanced at the clock on the end table and he paused… Naruto was probably pissed at him for being late. When she pulled on hair he smirked and went back to marking her neck. He wasn't going to bother mentioning that he had plans with Naruto, not with the way she went on about how much time he spent with the blond. If she wanted shit between them to work, then she was going to have to learn that Naruto was his best friend. He would never choose between them and if he was given such an ultimatum, Naruto would easily win.

For her sake, he hoped she'd stop pestering him about it.

"Why'd you call me over here Sakura?" Sasuke nipped her neck and allowed himself to be pulled closer as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Sakura tried to think clearly as she bit her lip and resisted the urge to moan. "B-Because I… Oh God… I need to… to talk to you." The girl was bright red as she held onto Sasuke and panted under his skillful ministrations.

Sasuke kissed her one last time before he untangled himself from her and sat at the other end of the couch. They needed to talk… instant mood killer. "Hn… what about?"

"About Hinata and Naruto." Sakura spat Naruto's name out as she sat on Sasuke's lap. The only thing good that had really come out of the ordeal between Naruto and Hinata was the fact that she now had a reason others would consider a legitimate one to dislike the boy. Not even Sasuke would be able to dispute that with her.

Sasuke sighed. "Why? There shit has nothing to do with us." He didn't have time to talk about something that Naruto did unless he was talking to Naruto about it. Considering he and Naruto had already breeched the subject of the blond fucking around with Hinata, Sasuke didn't see the point in sitting and rehashing it with Sakura.

"It is our business. Individual, we're their best friends and your best friend really hurt mine." And Sakura would be damned six ways to hell if the bastard didn't pay for it.

Sasuke leaned against the couch and decided to humor her. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"If you talk some sense into Naruto, I'll have a surprise waiting for you tonight. And if you don't, I'll just handle it on my own." Sakura smirked as she moved against Sasuke's lap and paused for effect.

"Fine." Sasuke kissed her and when she climbed off of his lap he stood. "It better be one hell of a surprise." He had no intention to say anything to Naruto other than to warn him about the wrath of his girlfriend and Hinata but Sakura didn't need to know that.

"Trust me," she kissed his neck softly, "it will be."

* * *

"Where's that bastard? He won't even answer his phone and he complains about me never answering mine. Fucker…"

They had only been waiting for the youngest Uchiha for about 10 minutes but that was (apparently) 10 minutes too long for Naruto. Shikamaru and Ino didn't mind, they found amusement in the simple fact that Naruto tended to forget about the world around him when it came to Sasuke. Of course, they didn't mind because Naruto never abandoned them while he was going through the motions of crushing on somebody. It was just one of the blond's little quirks and, to an extent, they all thought it was interesting (or cute) how the two interacted.

How long had they liked each other? No one was really sure but they'd skirted around the issue for years now.

Naruto paused and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket flipping it open. "Itachi!"

"_Hello Naruto. Meet me at L & T._"

Naruto smirked when the line went dead. Itachi always made things quick and got straight to the point, which saved a lot of time. Then again... he could also draw things out and confuse the hell out of even the most intellectually attuned. Which was only one of his quirks. Itachi's mannerisms... Naruto still wasn't entirely accustomed to them.

"What did _he_ want?" Shikamaru didn't like Itachi.

He didn't make this a secret and he was always wary of the man's motives and actions. Of course, there was also the fact that every time Naruto and Itachi came into contact with one another the cesspool of innuendos that _that man_ used to pit his wit against Naruto's only served as a gate way to his lecherous actions. Sure, Naruto could hold his own from time to time, which was a feat considering who he played such an intimate game of word tug-o-war with, but still…

Shikamaru hid his frown. It was going to be a very long and tiresome day.

"He wants us to meet him at L & T." Naruto grinned as he tucked his phone into his back pocket.

He really hoped that Itachi wasn't trying to force his _eccentric_ taste on him. The whole leather thing suited Itachi just fine but Naruto... not so much.

Ino's grin was wide as she grabbed Shikamaru and Naruto and headed in the direction of the store. "I should have thought of going there first. Just wait Naru, by the end of the day, you'll look brand new."

And he didn't doubt that.

* * *

"Just let us see you, Naruto."

"No."

"Naruto Uzumaki, if you don't get your ass out here I'll knock down the door and drag you out."

"No."

"What a drag… if you show us now, then these two will stop being meddlesome and we can go." Even Shikamaru was against him.

"No. I look fucking ridiculous and I can't believe you people would even pick something like this out."

"If you don't want to come out Naruto, I certainly won't mind coming in to see you." Itachi was telling the honest to God truth and Naruto didn't doubt him for a second.

He also didn't care. "Come in then but there's no way I'm stepping out there like this."

Ino growled and leaned against the door of the dressing room. "If you don't fucking show me that damn outfit, I swear on all that is holy, I will burn Tomo."

"You wouldn't..."

"Try me."

Naruto blanched and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Honestly, he didn't know why he'd tried on the outfit besides trying to be a good sport and now that his age old teddy Tomo was involved... "I won't come out but I'll open the door so that you can all see me."

Usually, his confidence overrode his logic but this… even this wasn't something he'd make a joke out of. Slowly the door creaked open to reveal Naruto standing there with his face flushed whilst his friends and everyone nearby gawked. He glanced over himself once more and he could see why that was. He had on the tightest pair of Leather short shorts in the store and they graciously outlined and accentuated his curves. He frowned, men were not supposed to have curves. Then there was the shirt that fared no better than the shorts. It was a thin black shirt that hugged the better half of his upper body like a second layer of skin with bold orange writing that proclaimed "Too Hot Even For Myself" proudly across his chest. The statement may have been true but Naruto just felt ridiculous. The leather boots that Itachi had picked out for him stopped mid thigh and Naruto would bet his life that the leather was beginning to fuse to his calves.

And everyone was still gaping…

"Fuck it!" Naruto frowned and slammed the door shut in their faces. They'd asked to see him, he'd showed them, and they didn't even say anything, they just stared.

The bastards.

Outside of the dressing room, Ino was the first to recover. "Did… did you guys see him?" She knew that Naruto was gorgeous, she'd always thought so, even when they were kids, but his potential… fuck potential. She'd been shown that Naruto could pull off being draped in leathers flawlessly.

Girls and boys, eat your heart out.

Shikamaru wiped at his eyes and stood up straight. "He looked…" Well, there was a first time for everything and Shikamaru with his vast knowledge couldn't even begin to describe how the blond looked… In fact, the only thing he could think about was how he was going to convince Naruto to never put on clothing that came from Itachi.

Never again.

Itachi's eyes glinted beneath the bright fluorescent lighting as a dubious smile played at his lips. "Brilliant."

It had taken every restraining technique that Itachi knew in order for him not to drag Naruto back into the dressing room, take his time peeling away the layers, before graciously fucking the boy against the dressing room wall. He'd always thought it a fun game to tease Naruto and to be teased in return for the boy was… beautiful, for a lack of better words. This new Naruto, the one with the piercings and the leather, the one whose look now matched his spitfire personality, was like something out of a fantasy Itachi had entertained on several occasions. If Sasuke wasn't careful, Itachi certainly wouldn't mind investing his interest in Naruto.

Naruto opened the stall door and glared at the group. "This shit doesn't wanna come off so when I tear it, and trust me, I'm going to rip this shit to shreds, you can pay for it." With that said, he slammed the door shut.

Ino frowned and walked to the door. "Don't do that Naru, you looked hot, honestly."

"No, I look ridiculous."

Itachi sidled over to the door. "No need to rip them off Naruto. If you need any help, any at all, I'm here." He would never pass up an opportunity to corner his favorite prey.

"Thanks Itachi but I think I've got this one, maybe next time."

Shikamaru glared at the eldest Uchiha. "Lay one finger on him and I'll break it."

It was bad enough he had to watch as Itachi groped Naruto when he'd helped him try on and "adjust" the first few outfits but he would be damned if he let the man go into Naruto's dressing room. Shikamaru truly didn't like Itachi nor did he like the man's whims and tendencies. He didn't see what everyone else saw in the man. Especially Naruto… but then again, Naruto tended to attract weirdoes.

Handsome weirdoes but weirdoes nonetheless.

"Jealousy does not suit you Nara." Itachi smirked, ebony eyes clashing with hazel.

"Men…" Ino giggled as she leaned against the outside of Naruto's dressing room door.

She thought it was cute, the way Itachi treated Naruto that is. The man never did anything that her best friend didn't want him to do and if Naruto didn't like the attention, he would say most definitely so. She'd heard him speak out against lesser actions… especially when it came to Sai. Everyone just needed to learn that, when push came to shove, he could take care of himself.

"Lay off Itachi." Sasuke nodded in greeting as he paused beside Shikamaru.

His brother was aggravating Shikamaru as per usual, which meant he was probably hitting on Naruto. Even so, Itachi was a better choice than Sai in the long run. Sasuke would stand by that.

"You've finally made it little brother." Itachi's smirk stretched into an eerie smile. "And without that annoying thing you call your girlfriend."

Shikamaru's disdain towards Itachi was nothing compared to the way Itachi felt about Sakura. Of all the people Sasuke could've chosen to be serious about, he failed to see the one right before his eyes. And out of all the people on his extensive track record of lovers and one night stands, he'd chosen Sakura. Itachi didn't see the appeal. The girl was incompatible with Sasuke, incompatible with the way he'd planned for things to be, and she was as dull as a doorknob. Itachi couldn't fathom how such a development had come to be considering the perfect match for his little brother was right in front of Sasuke's face and he'd passed up the opportunity for what? For Sakura Haruno?

Her only redeeming quality was her cunning and that still did not make up for her lack of personality.

He should've allowed that redhead or even their distant cousin the opportunity that he'd thought he'd placed on a silver platter for Sasuke. They wouldn't have squandered it away. Sasuke was lucky. Itachi didn't plan on giving up on his objective but the boy would now have to work for it- and there would be interest for time wasted.

Sasuke loved his brother, he did, but sometimes the man was too much to handle. "_Itachi_." He wasn't in the mood to hear the man prattle on about his girlfriend.

Without another glance at Itachi, Sasuke walked into Naruto's dressing room and locked the door. The blond had the bad habit of forgetting to lock his doors. Sasuke smirked at the startled boy and was tempted to laugh when Naruto tried to cover himself up. As if Sasuke hadn't already seen him naked on several occasions… none of which he'd really had the chance to savor and enjoy. Now however… Sasuke really did laugh when Naruto pushed him back and he stayed leaning against the wall where furious azure eyes pinned him.

"What the hell, asshole!" Naruto's glare didn't waver. Sasuke always invaded his space with little to no thought and… and… he was two hours late. Okay, so that was the real problem but Naruto wouldn't say it aloud.

"Calm down idiot, I wanted to talk to you. In private." Sasuke let his eyes roam over Naruto's slender frame and he liked what he saw.

He always liked what he saw. Which made their current predicament very dangerous.

"And you couldn't wait until I finished changing?"

Sasuke lowered his voice and leaned a little closer to Naruto. "Well, I didn't know if you wanted them to hear or not, after all, this is about Hinata."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. How could he have forgotten about her? "You talked to her?" Naruto finally pulled that damned shirt off. He would at least be productive as they talked.

"Hn…" Sasuke almost forgot why he was in the dressing room with Naruto as he continued to stare at the boy, his eyes tracing and memorizing the contours of Naruto's sleek body. Briefly, he wondered how it was he hadn't noticed how distracting Naruto's beauty was, as cheesy as that sounded.

It was a very distracting thing when they were enclosed in such a small space.

"Is that a yes 'Hn' or no 'Hn' bastard?" Naruto pulled on his original orange shirt which subsequently snapped Sasuke out of his daze.

Ah… Naruto was enough distraction from his physical beauty all on his own.

"A no 'Hn.' I had to stop at Sakura's before I came here and she told me that she's been talking to Hinata all day about what happened between the two of you yesterday." Sasuke shifted his weight and sighed. "She wanted me to talk to you or she said that she would."

Naruto raised a slender blond eyebrow. Why the hell did he need a talking to? And from Sasuke of all people? Or, better yet, from her? "Talk to me? I don't need anyone to fucking talk to me except Hinata." He really wanted to tell Sasuke that his girlfriend could mind her fucking business and shove her input but he wouldn't. That would be rude and he'd regret it later.

He always did.

"I know. I told her that. I also told her that we shouldn't get involved in shit that has nothing to do with us."

Naruto pulled on his loose jeans before looking at Sasuke with a crooked smile. "I think that's the smartest thing outside of school that I've ever heard you say."

"Unlike you, my intelligence has range." Sasuke easily caught the fist aimed for his shoulder.

Two sets of eyes turned towards the door as someone knocked. "_You know Sasuke, I don't see how your being in the dressing room is being productive, especially when you're not allowed to touch him. Perhaps we should trade places and I won't let such a grand opportunity go to waste."_

Sasuke smirked and pulled Naruto to his chest by the hand he'd captured moments ago. He pushed the door open and stared down at Naruto before leaning forward and nipping the boy's ear. "I think we were _productive_ enough for one dressing room."

Naruto frowned before he glared at Sasuke, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "He's making shit up, don't listen to this bastard." He turned to move out of Sasuke's arms but was caught again.

"Don't be modest Naru. It's okay if they know, right?" Sasuke grinned when Naruto pushed him away.

"You're such a jackass. I would never- to Sakura- Ugh!" Naruto's blush had spread well beyond his face by the time he'd shrugged out of Sasuke's arms and latched onto Ino and Shikamaru.

"Well, as entertaining as you lot are, I must be off." Itachi turned to leave, pausing to place a light kiss on Naruto's forehead before he turned to stare at his little brother. "Be sure to buy those outfits for Naruto." With that said, Itachi left. There was much he had to do.

"Let's go Shika, Ino, I'm hungry." Naruto tossed one last glare at Sasuke before he dragged Ino and Shikamaru out of the store and towards the food court.

Sasuke glanced at the pile of clothes Itachi and the others had picked out and he could see the possibilities forming in his mind. A coquettish smile formed on his face as he thought about adding a few more piercings to Naruto's repertoire. His mind ran with the thoughts as he approached the counter to pay for the clothes.

Belly button... he'd get that done as soon as the opportunity hit him.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **Okay... I'm really, really, sorry this is late and I mean, really, really, late but I just got back into the Naruto Fic groove. So please, don't maim me yet. I'm still not entirely happy with this but I fixed it as best as I could without re-writing it entirely and loosing some of the plot. And since I'm so unsure of how well the changes and this fic overall will be taken to, all and any criticism is welcomed.**  
**

**So if you dig it, drop me a line. **


	3. Throw Caution To The Wind, Live A Little

**WARNING: **_Language. Cheesy humor. Remade/cliched plot devices. Cliffhanger._

* * *

**ALL STARTED WITH A FEW PIERCINGS  
**

_Three: Throw Caution to the Wind, Live A Little_**  
**

* * *

Neji stared at his cousin and (dear god) was he bored.

He'd warned her about her current predicament on several occasions but she'd chosen not to heed his warning, thus, she could only blame herself for the way things had turned out to be. At the very least, he was glad that Naruto had finally put the girl in her place. Maybe now she would understand that she stood no chance when it came to gaining the boy's affections in the way she and everyone else tended to hope for.

Even Neji had come to terms with that but it wouldn't keep him from enjoying what he could of Naruto.

He mentally sighed as he shifted in his seat to make himself more comfortable. The only person Naruto would ever have eyes for was Sasuke Uchiha- an idiot who wouldn't recognize love if it were written in the sky. Neji loved Naruto as well and, though he could not classify it (and he was sure many could share his sentiments), he knew it was love that he felt. But Sasuke… Sasuke was in love with Naruto and vice versa. It only made sense for the two of them to be together.

So where had things gone wrong?

He and Gaara had gracefully bowed out of the race to claim Naruto as a lover and Sasuke had done… nothing.

Jack shit.

In fact, he'd ended up with that Sakura girl by some odd fluke.

Neji sighed tiredly. Of all the people for Naruto to fall for, it had to be Sasuke. Neji wasn't sure what was holding the boy back from moving forth with a relationship with Naruto but, be it denial, insecurity, or otherwise, no reason would suffice. Perhaps he'd have to take matters into his own hands and remind Sasuke of the jealousy he felt and displayed when Naruto's attention was focused on those other than him.

Today would be the perfect day to do such a thing.

Neji glanced at Hinata and wondered why it was she continued to talk to him. She knew of his feelings towards her situation. Hadn't he made it clear how uninterested he was? Despite his slight shift in how he felt about his family overall, he still wasn't entirely through with being bitter towards them, Hinata included. If she was telling Neji about Naruto in hopes of him rectifying her dignity then she was sorely mistaken. No matter what, he would never interfere in her life. They'd severed their ties. Neji's pale lilac eyes hardened into a glare hoping the girl would leave him alone. He would much rather be with the boy Hinata was going on about than listen to her talk about him. But alas, he had to sit and listen to her. He would have to wait until she dismissed him before he could leave because he still succumbed to their family hierarchy.

Perhaps he could scare her away…

"If you have nothing of importance to say to me Hinata then could you please go find another to shed your tears on?" Neji knew he was being heartless, knew Naruto had taught him to be above the Hyuuga ways, yet the bitterness was there at times such as this one.

"I… I…" The sobbing girl couldn't speak as she turned and ran to her room.

Neji smirked victoriously. He still had a ways to go when it came to being civil toward those within his family. He made his way outside and towards his car, he'd heard from a reliable source that Naruto had undergone some changes and it was high time he visited him.

* * *

Naruto stared out the window as Shikamaru drove towards his house. He could hear Ino talking about what she'd done the day prior as Shikamaru commented here and there but he was far too deep in his own thoughts to add anything to the conversation. All he could think about was how stupid he was for _liking_ Sasuke fucking Uchiha. Really, of all the people... Why Sasuke? And the bastard didn't have a clue, which was just fucking grand because it seemed like everyone else in the world did (even though no one directly said anything to him about). Well, Naruto wasn't exactly making it obvious either because, in all honesty, he wished he would've fallen for anyone but Sasuke.

He wished he could've returned Hinata's affections.

He wished he'd taken Neji up on the offer to try to return his.

He wished his crush on Gaara wouldn't have turned out to be like his crush on Neji or even Itachi: simple admiration and sexual attraction.

And he'd given them all up for a bastard who didn't have a clue- a bastard who played with his mind and his heart through unknowing words and actions.

Sometimes, Naruto was positive that Sasuke knew. Sometimes, he felt as though he could say with absolute certainty that Sasuke felt something for him too but then… Then he would do things like making Sakura his fucking girlfriend. And it made no sense. It had happened around the same time that Naruto had come to terms with how he felt about Sasuke and those feelings struck a chord in his heart. Well… it was more like Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba had to tell him what it was he was feeling because they knew him better than anyone else but still... And though he was in denial at first, he'd admitted that he'd fallen for the arrogant, insensitive, cocky, witty, intelligent asshole that was Sasuke Uchiha.

And he regretted that day ever since because he felt like it was now all to obvious- as if Sasuke could see right through him.

But Sasuke hadn't noticed.

And Naruto didn't know what the hell Sasuke was thinking when it came to the subject.

Again, Naruto was both relieved and frustrated.

Especially after Sasuke started his random relationship with Sakura.

Naruto liked her and he didn't want to interfere with what they had going on. Not in the least. Which made it for the best that Sasuke knew nothing about the way he felt. Sasuke had never been with someone as long as he'd been with Sakura and if she was making him happy, why would Naruto want to mess that up.

Naruto resisted the urge to sigh. Even Sakura was suspicious of his feelings towards _her_ boyfriend. She'd voiced her concerns about his involvement with Sasuke and Naruto honestly couldn't blame her. He'd tried to detach himself, to give them space as a new couple, but Sasuke hadn't liked that much.

He smiled as he remembered arguing with the littlest Uchiha and how they'd made up by lounging in Sasuke's room all weekend doing nothing more than playing videogames and watching movies. He'd even reassured Naruto that Sakura didn't know what she was talking about (if only he knew). Sakura hadn't liked that Sasuke defied her but Naruto was still trying to stay clear for her sake. He was trying his damnedest to stop liking Sasuke and he would keep trying because falling in love with Sasuke… it wasn't healthy. He'd been around the boy long enough, watched him fail and butcher relationship after relationship, and they always ended badly.

It was things like that that scared Naruto.

Their friendship… it was precious to him. He hadn't known Sasuke that long but when they'd met, their connection was instant in this uncanny sort of way. It was as if they'd always been friends and simply hadn't known about it until the very day that they met freshmen year. Which, granted, wasn't a long time in comparison to how long Naruto had known most people but it felt like it.

And Naruto knew more about Sasuke than even Sasuke knew about himself.

He knew that, before Sakura, Sasuke had slept around like it was nobody's business simply because he could. He knew that Sasuke liked challenges- that the youngest Uchiha liked when he was denied something because it scarcely happened. And then the boy would work twice as hard to make whatever it was he'd been denied of his, whether "it" was a person, place, or thing. Naruto also knew that once the novelty of Sasuke's "new" possession wore off, he no longer cared for it.

Now that Naruto thought about it, even if there was a chance that he could be with Sasuke he wasn't sure that he'd take it. He loved that Sasuke was one of his best friends, loved being around the arrogant bastard whether they were hanging out or studying for a test. He didn't want to be tossed away like last weeks garbage if they took their relationship further and it failed. Hell, he hadn't even wanted to be "one of those people" who fell for Sasuke.

But it had happened.

Naruto groaned and frowned before shaking his head. He was being ridiculous. Sasuke wasn't trying to hurt him, Sasuke didn't know about his feelings, and Sasuke would never want him- whether Sakura was involved or not. He had a feeling that he wasn't the boy's type and that was fine. It would save him and their relationship if things stayed like that. He also didn't want to feel the way he did about his best friend. The entire situation was far too clichéd for him and Naruto wanted nothing more than for it to be over with. Life would've been better had he not fallen for the unreachable Sasuke Uchiha and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to fix things.

Ino waved her hand in front of Naruto's face. "Hey Naru, were you listening to a word I just said?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly and turned to stare at Ino. "I'm sorry Ino, I was daydreaming. What were you saying?" He could tell that she wasn't buying that for a moment but he didn't want to burden them with his problems. Not when he felt like he was being ridiculous.

"She wants to throw a sleepover at her house tomorrow night because her folks aren't coming home until Tuesday. Something about the weather…" Shikamaru had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea but who was he to refuse when Ino's stubbornness and Naruto's enthusiasm always miraculously prevailed over his logic. It would be a waste of breath to even argue.

Naruto grinned, his thoughts on Sasuke momentarily paused. "Hell yea! Who're you inviting?"

"I'm going to invite everyone we know and whoever makes it, makes it."

"Oh… Sounds great, I can't wait." Naruto thought about the possibility of Hinata showing up and this only led to other thoughts that wove into his guilt.

It was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

Pale lilac irises met teal as neither man opted to look away. Both were wondering why the hell the other was there in the first place.

Gaara had arrived at Naruto's house first and he'd simply used the spare key taped under the front step to enter the house. He'd planned to lie on the couch and watch the news as he waited for either Naruto or the boy's parents to return. He'd settled comfortably onto the couch when he'd heard the door open again only, instead of Naruto waltzing into the living room, he was met with a scowling Neji Hyuuga.

Neji wasn't entirely surprised when he'd found Gaara at Naruto's house. He knew the car out front had belonged to either Sasuke or the redhead and it seemed it'd been the latter. Neither option was his choice for company. Neji no longer held anything against Gaara in terms of gaining Naruto's affections but there was something that he inherently disliked about the man. It'd been that way long before Naruto came into the picture and he didn't see things changing anytime soon.

And that was a problem.

Neji didn't want to be stuck in a house waiting for Naruto with someone that he wasn't too fond of. The only thing that would make the moment worse would be if-

"Neji. Gaara."

-If Sasuke was present as well.

"Sasuke." Both Gaara and Neji turned their attention towards the dark haired boy.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glanced between the two. "You must've heard about Naruto's makeover…" And if they had, he knew with absolute certainty that Shikamaru was the one who'd told them.

The bastard.

Gaara's eyes darkened. "Naruto's-"

And Neji outright glared. "-makeover?"

Sasuke smirked. "I guess no one's told you then." He mentally took back his earlier statement about Shikamaru.

* * *

Shikamaru's nose twitched as he glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye. It was irritating that his usually very talkative friend was so silent and Shikamaru couldn't figure out why. Or, well, maybe he had an idea. It probably had something to do with why the boy hadn't answered his phone on Friday. Or maybe it had something to do with Sasuke? It was always best to ask when it came to Naruto or else no one would know anything.

Shikamaru knew that Naruto thought all of his problems were trivial and the blond never wanted to bother anyone with them. That wasn't the case at all. Shikamaru wanted to know when Naruto was bothered, when he was hurt, when something was on his mind… it was only bothersome that he had to drag it out of someone that he considered to be his best friend.

"What's wrong Naruto?"

Naruto glanced at his long time friend. "Promise not to get mad?" But he was sure he wouldn't have to worry about that because Shika was always the one who helped him with his serious problems.

This would be no different.

"Have I ever been mad at you?"

Naruto shook his head. It was true, no matter what he did Shikamaru was never upset with him. "Yesterday night, I slept with Hinata. Sasuke only took me to get this done to take my mind off of it, as dumb as that sounds." He felt so stupid. He'd put off dealing with Hinata for two days now and the girl was supposed to be his friend… what kind of a man was he?

Shikamaru turned off his car as he pulled into Naruto's driveway. His brown eyes turned to stare into Naruto's bright blue as he mulled over his question. "You and Hinata hmm… How'd that happen?" At least he now knew why it was Naruto had been so absent minded lately.

"We didn't have anything planned yesterday so when Hinata asked me if I wanted to study, I said sure. I stopped at home, went to her place, and the minute she opened the door I started thinking with my cock." Naruto sighed and leaned against the window. "The worst thing about all of this was that, after we had sex, she asked me to be her boyfriend and I said no before geeting the fuck outta there… I'm such an asshole. A cowardly asshole." He really hadn't meant to hurt Hinata but he wasn't going to lie to her either.

Shikamaru nodded carefully as he stared at Naruto. "You're not entirely an ass considering you only told her the truth. Granted the truth wasn't what she wanted to hear and your delivery was a bit rough. I take it she's not answering your calls?"

"No. She even blocked me from her HOTplace page."

"Give her some time. She's a woman who had a flawed plan when it came to gaining a boyfriend and losing her virginity. I doubt she'll want to talk much to anyone least of all you." Shikamaru shrugged and glanced out of his window briefly. "But time heals nothing and the two of you will need to talk soon so that things don't get out of hand. She might be hurt, she might even hate you right now but once you two talk, it should ease her anger. She might even stop hating you depending upon what you say." He felt only mildly sorry for Hinata considering she obviously hadn't caught on to the fact that Naruto was only interested in one person: Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto frowned. "How the hell am I supposed to talk to her when she's avoiding me."

"Go to her home, go to where she hangs out… I doubt she's told too many people about what happened because, I imagine, she's ashamed. Most girls don't take losing their virginity lightly. You just need to talk to her and get things sorted out and I know you can do it Naruto." Shikamaru smiled fondly at his friend and was happy when Naruto smiled in return.

"Thanks Shika, you're the best." Naruto grinned goofily as he leaned over and pulled the brunet into a hug. "You know that I love you, right?" Shikamaru always had all of the answers and Naruto was grateful.

"Just be sure not to get into anymore trouble this weekend." Shikamaru highly doubted that would be the case considering who was at Naruto's house but he could hope.

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto climbed out of the car before promptly sticking his head back in. "Hey, Neji and Gaara are here!" Blue eyes lit up before he slammed the door shut and rushed towards his house.

He hadn't seen the college bound men in forever and he missed them.

Shikamaru sighed again as he tiredly followed behind his friend. "Troublesome…"

It was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

"Gaara!" Naruto grinned widely as he ran towards the redhead and tackled him into hug in excitement.

Gaara grunted as his back hit the ground with a thud. "Naruto." He stared at the blond closely before sitting up and grabbing the boy's face. "What did you do to your face?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sasuke had some weird guy in Oto do a bit of this and a bit of that. You like it?"

"I do." Gaara released the boy's face surprised that Sasuke had done something… nice, for a change.

"Naruto."

Naruto smiled one last time at Gaara before he climbed off of his friend and walked over to Neji. "Long time no see."

Neji smirked and pulled the boy into a hug. "It has been a while… And in my absence you've gained some new accessories so to speak." A soft smile lit his face as he stared down at Naruto. "I like them."

"Thanks. Let's go talk in the living room, we've got a lot of catching up to do." Naruto pushed Neji and Gaara towards his living room. He'd missed their once constant presence in his life and it would be fun to catch up.

In the background, Sasuke watched with dark, jaded, eyes. He'd never been too fond of either Neji or Gaara and he couldn't understand how it was that Naruto became acquainted with either of them. Naruto wasn't even privy to the fact that the two liked him in more than a platonic way.

And Sasuke was glad.

They didn't deserve someone like Naruto. No, Naruto needed someone who could handle his exuberant nature, someone who would be able to accommodate his ever changing needs, someone like-

"Sasuke."

He spared Shikamaru a glance when the brunet entered the house. "Hn…"

Shikamaru shook his head and headed towards the living room, Sasuke on his heels. Honestly, he didn't even care about Sasuke's fixation on Naruto at the moment, not when the weekend was already promising to be longer than it needed to.

* * *

No one was sure how it happened but the five of them had ended up sitting in Naruto's living room watching movies.

Then again, Shikamaru had a vague idea of how they'd all ended up lounging around and civilly no less.

Sasuke had mentioned something about Naruto trying on his new outfits before they went out and Naruto adamantly refused. Of course, Naruto rarely refused to do anything, let alone try on clothes, and as such he piqued Gaara and Neji's interests. They tried to coerce Naruto into trying on what the boy had referred to as a "whore's uniform" because no one would give up the opportunity to see anyone (let alone Naruto) in a skimpy outfit.

On the rare occasion that the three had seen it fit to band together, it was only natural that Shikamaru took Naruto's side and came to his rescue. He'd suggested that they all go watch a movie and catch up because there would be other times to go to the club. Naruto eagerly latched onto to the idea of a night of moving watching and before anyone could deny him his scapegoat, he'd already popped a movie into the DVD player.

Which would brought Shikamaru's thoughts back to the present where Naruto was curled at his side on the LazyBoy while Sasuke, Neji, and Gaara were spread amongst the two couches.

Currently, they were watching movie number three.

And Naruto had won.

Everyone was happy… sort of.

Naruto gripped Shikamaru's arm as he looked away from the TV. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! His daughter just crumbled to ash- she fucking crumbled right in his arms!" This was why he hated horror films.

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "You do know that this is a movie based entirely on fiction." He would never understand how or why people feared the fictional things they saw in movies.

"Movie or not, it's fucking scary." Naruto hopped off of the chair when his house phone rung. "Be right back." He slid around the corner and into the kitchen, quickly picking up the phone. "Yo! Hatake residence."

_"Naruto…"_

"Dad? Why aren't you guys home yet? Everything alright?" He felt like he hadn't seen his parents in awhile.

And he missed them.

_"We're fine but, you see, your father thought it'd be a good idea to spend our remaining weekend at some fancy hotel and he surprised me. We should be back Monday morning, unless of course you want me to come home. I know how hard it is for you to start the washing machine and you only eat ramen when we're away… I didn't even freeze you dinner…"_

Naruto laughed as he held the phone between his shoulder and ear. "I'm not a kid anymore if you haven't noticed." Iruka was such a worry wart… "I'll be fine."

_"That's exactly what I told him Naru. I trust you. Just remember to lock the door when you leave the house and don't worry if we don't get around to calling you tomorrow… or even if we don't show up on Monday."_

Damn… Naruto really did hate cooking. "Alright dad, I'll take care of things. Have fun."

_"We love you Naru, be good."_

With that, Naruto hung up the phone. He hadn't mentioned it before but he really, really, hated sleeping in his house when he knew he'd be alone. Maybe Shikamaru would agree to stay with him or even one of the three boys lounging on his couches.

Maybe.

* * *

Sakura glared as her clocked ticked on- almost like it was mocking and taunting her. She supposed it was considering she'd wasted away an entire Saturday just staring at it. Staring at the clock and wondering when or even if Sasuke was 'd called and left him dozens of message but she had yet to garner any response from him. Nothing at all. And Sasuke knew that they had plans, that she had something amazing waiting for him. There was no way that he could have forgotten.

She frowned. There was a way and it made her gut clench to even think about it: Naruto Uzumaki. She was so fed up with being second to her boyfriend's best friend. It was supposed to be the other way around!

So how had things turned out like this?

Sakura knew upon entering a relationship with Sasuke Uchiha that his best friend was Naruto Uzumaki. She knew that the two were practically joined at the hip but what best friends weren't? Aside from that, she and Naruto were acquaintances long before she'd met Sasuke (thanks to Ino). And she'd never had a problem with him.

Not until she started dating Sasuke and saw for herself just how "joined at the hip" the two really were.

It was no wonder Sasuke never held down a decent relationship. He and Naruto were and would always be, first and foremost, best friends, and it was a relationship that Sasuke placed above nearly all others. No matter the situation, if Sasuke was so much as in the same vicinity as Naruto, he would forget about everything and everyone else in favor of focusing on the boy.

Sakura found it dreadfully amusing that Naruto was able to make time for his other friends but Sasuke… Sasuke only ever seemed to allot time for Naruto and Naruto alone.

Sakura hated Naruto.

She'd played the role of the nice girlfriend, the nice friend, but she was beyond over it. Sakura had assumed that they just hadn't noticed, that it was something that could be fixed rather easily. She was sure that after she'd talked to both Naruto and Sasuke about the issue that it would be resolved. For one solid month, she didn't have to ask Sasuke for his time, she didn't have to worry about him not paying attention to her, and she was happy.

And then, slowly, things drifted back to how they once were.

Was she ever going to win?

Her phone rang and she sighed. It wasn't Sasuke but maybe Ino would be able to pull her mind in a different direction. "Hey Ino, what's up?"

_"I'm having a sleepover-ish thing tomorrow night, you can come and bring Hinata. I couldn't get a hold of her."_

"Sounds fun… And I suppose Hinata will need something to take her mind off of what happened last night." Sakura's eyes widened, she hadn't meant to let that slip.

_"Oh! Do I sense gossip?"_ Ino was a glutton for a good story.

Sakura sighed. "You'd have to ask Hinata." Or Naruto she tacked on bitterly.

_"I guess I'll try her phone again after I call those assholes to let them know that they have an ass kicking scheduled for tomorrow."_

"What'd they do now?" It was always one thing or another with those four- Ino, Shika, Kiba, and Naruto that was.

Sakura, along with everyone else, knew that they'd all been friends since elementary school but that wasn't always a good thing. It meant that they knew how to push each other's buttons just as well as they knew how to rectify their qualms.

_"We were all supposed to go out tonight because we gave Naruto a makeover and instead, they're all at Naruto's house watching movies because Neji and Gaara came home for the weekend. Sasuke even let me pick out the cutest outfit and now I don't get to wear it." _

"Wait… who's at Naruto's place?"

_"Um… Gaara, Neji, Shika, and Sasuke. Why? You thinking of going over there?"_

Sakura's eyes darkened. "No. I'll call you back later Ino." She snapped her cellphone shut before the girl could utter a goodbye.

And she knew it.

She'd known from the minute Sasuke failed to return her calls that it had something to do with Naruto. She threw her blackberry at the wall and screamed in irritation. She was sick and tired of being second to Naruto, to her fucking boyfriend's _friend_, and things were going to change.

Sakura was going to give Sasuke a choice: it was either her or Naruto.

He'd better choose right.

* * *

Naruto glanced at the man sleeping beside him and smiled. Last night after they'd finished watching movies, the unanimous decision had been for everyone to just stay at Naruto's house. That'd been convenient for him considering he didn't want to be home alone in the first place. Nevertheless, he was the first one who went to bed and he left the others to duke it out for their sleeping spots.

Which was why Naruto was currently smilingly brightly at Neji whose warm amethyst irises sleepily stared back at him.

Naruto missed Neji.

It wasn't as though they never spoke or they hadn't seen each other during the holidays but Naruto thought it felt odd to start the school year without either of them by his side as well as a few others. It couldn't be helped really, that feeling. Neji and Gaara had contributed a lot to his growth and his life overall so to not be able to see them as he saw fit... It was different and it went to show just how things changed the older they all got.

Naruto's smile stretched and he was tempted to laugh because, thinking about where they were now in comparison to where they used to be- it was interesting. He and Neji had once hated each other. But that was five long years, a family feud, and a crush ago. Now they shared a bond that Naruto couldn't foresee giving up anytime soon.

When the brunet shifted beneath the sheets Naruto's face lit up with a goofy grin. "Morning Neji."

Neji smiled softly as he sat up and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Naruto's plump lips. "Morning." Briefly he wondered if there'd ever been the possibility that he could wake up in the same fashion on an everyday basis- with Naruto by his side.

"Good to see you're an affectionate morning person."

Neji chuckled and noted that the blond had shuddered with the sound. "It's not hard when I have the right motivation." He ran a hand through Naruto's thick hair. "Would you like to know something interesting?"

Naruto thought about this for a moment. What could possibly be interesting so early in the morning? Unless Neji was horny… that would be interesting indeed. "Sure."

"Yesterday night when arrived home I was stopped by an upset Hinata. Do you know what she was crying about?"

Naruto audibly gulped and glanced away from the brunet. He should've known. "About that…" He didn't know where to start. "I didn't mean to hurt her, I mean, I wasn't even really thinking when I went over there but if I was I swear I wouldn't have went and I wouldn't have slept with her and she wouldn't be upset and we'd still be-" Naruto's rant was effectively silenced when Neji pulled him forward and stole a teasing kiss.

"I'm not mad nor am I here to admonish you. I just found it interesting that, of all your choices, you chose to couple with Hinata." Neji smirked as Naruto's face took on a scarlet hue. It'd been far too long since he'd seen Naruto of all people blush.

"Well…" And Naruto certainly didn't know what to say to that. What was he supposed to say to the cousin of the girl he'd slept with? Then again, it was really no one's business who he did and did not sleep with…

Thankfully, he didn't have to sit and think about how to answer because Shikamaru chose that moment to walk into his room. The man had impeccable timing, Naruto would give him that.

"Good, you're up." Shikamaru glanced between the two and didn't really care if they were in the middle of a serious conversation or not. Gaara and Sasuke were taking their anger/jealousy issues out on him and he'd much rather Naruto handled such a troublesome situation or go keep them busy. "Put on some clothes and come do something about breakfast."

Naruto laughed and climbed out of his bed. "Let's just go get something to eat." Naruto pulled on a T-shirt and grabbed his pants. "We can finish talking at Ino's, okay Neji?" He grinned wickedly at Shikamaru before dragging the boy out of his room and out of his house before anyone could say otherwise.

Everyone felt a little conned with Naruto's sudden departure, Shikamaru included.

* * *

"Dog Breath!"

"Ramen Bastard."

Naruto and Kiba grinned wolfishly as they ran towards each other. Shikamaru watched, amusement swimming in his honey colored irises. Naruto and Kiba did the same routine every single time they "reunited". It was by pure coincidence that they ran into Kiba as they'd wandered around Konoha's Food District. They hadn't seen much of their friend outside of school in little over a month on account of his new job and they were all missing him in their own ways.

"Dude, when the fuck did you get all of this shit done?" Kiba grabbed Naruto by the chin and examined the blond's piercings. "It's fucking awesome."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks man. Sasuke took me to get it done on Friday at some place in Oto."

"Sweet." Kiba let go of Naruto and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You should take me next time you go. I wanna get these sweet tattoos- Hey!" Kiba paused as he spotted Shikamaru not to far from them. "Get your lazy ass over here Shika!"

Shikamaru scowled but moved towards the duo nonetheless. "You two are too loud."

"Aww, but you've never been embarrassed of us Shika."

Shikamaru raised a slender brown eyebrow before he decided to change the subject entirely. "Shouldn't you be at work?" If Kiba was working, he and Naruto would be able to get a discount on their meal…

"Bah. I quit a few minutes ago and the boss fucking tweaked." Kiba smirked as he remembered finally being able to tell the bastard off. It'd felt so good.

"Why'd you quit?"

"My mom saw that I was serious about the whole working thing so she finally offered me a job at the Animal Hospital." He shrugged and glanced around the semi-busy street. "What're you guys doing down here?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Well, I was hungry and I didn't feel like dealing with the bastards I left at my house. You know, they're not really morning people."

Shikamaru shot the blond a look before he turned to Kiba. "But leaving the three of them alone together was a great idea because we all know how well they get along."

"Hey!"

Kiba chuckled. "Well, I guess I haven't missed much. Are Neji and Gaara going to Ino's tonight?"

"Yea but let's talk about that shit later, I'm starving. You coming Kiba?"

Kiba slung his arms around Naruto and Shikamaru's shoulders, his face splitting into a grin. "Yea, I'm game. But we're not eating at Tino's…" His ex-boss might spit in his food or something along those lines.

It was good to be friends.

* * *

"Sasuke, I assume you already know about Naruto's tryst with Hinata." Neji watched as dark eyes turned towards him and he would've thought Sasuke didn't care had those eyes not narrowed at the mention of his cousin.

"I do. What of it?" Was he supposed to say something about it? Sasuke didn't care… much. In hindsight, he didn't think Hinata was deserving of popping Naruto's cherry and really, Sasuke thought there were better people for the job. Maybe someone who wouldn't confuse his idiot, someone who could teach the boy a thing or two in the sack versus clumsily fooling around, someone who would know what to do when that gorgeously pierced face scrunched up and-

"It's about time he got laid." Gaara's face remained impassive but on the inside, he was smirking.

Everyone probably wished they were lucky enough to be Naruto's "first" but he'd beat them all to the punch. And then he internally frowned. In his eyes, Hinata was the last person he'd expected to bed Naruto and Gaara wasn't happy about finding it out from Neji of all people.

Neji leaned back in his chair, the urge to emote was overwhelming. "I would have to agree. They would've made a cute couple and perhaps it is not too late for them to try."

Sasuke outright scowled. He'd just thought the complete opposite of what the two bastards across from him were saying. Were they blind? Hinata (bless her pure heart) was a stuttering, clumsy, fool, who couldn't keep Naruto's interest for more than an hour which wasn't a hard thing to do. If she was the right choice for Naruto, then Sasuke knew he was a god. "No offense Neji, but the dumbass could've done better than your cousin." Much better.

Gaara could agreed with those sentiments entirely though he said naught.

"Better you say…" Neji allowed his chin to rest on his palm. "And who do you suppose would have been better suited for the occasion? You?"

Sasuke smirked and stood from the table. "If he were that lucky." He grabbed his coat and turned to leave but paused, his dark eyes focused on the two men remaining at the table. "Too bad it wasn't you." With that, he walked out of the house through the side door, his mind bitterly returning to Neji's question.

Would he have slept with Naruto if the opportunity ever presented itself?

Was it farfetched to think that he could possibly fuck Naruto until the boy could no longer stand?

Did he want to?

Sasuke frowned… Yes, no, and yes were the answers to those questions.

He would've done it and he would've liked it. It wasn't as if he'd never thought about fooling around with his best friend before but… was it so odd that he didn't want to just "fuck" Naruto. That word didn't seem to be the right one to describe what it was that he wanted to do with Naruto.

And that immensely bothered Sasuke.

Naruto was his best friend, his confidant, _his_ in general and- wait… Naruto was _his_?

Sasuke shook his head and headed towards his car. He needed to eat something and take a shower to clear his mind of all the compromising thoughts floating around it that were related to his best friend. He was _not_ supposed to be thinking about Naruto in such a way because, every time he did, he only ended up confusing himself. And he was pretty damn sure Naruto didn't think about him in the same fashion so really, it wasn't fair.

Back in Naruto's kitchen, Neji was eying the redhead seated across from him. "Do you think he's noticed?"

Gaara scoffed. "I doubt it." But, for Naruto's sake, he hoped Sasuke came to realize what feelings he held sooner rather than later.

* * *

"Hold on, hold on… Dude… you slept with Hinata? And then you dumped her?" Kiba made a face that was a cross between a scowl and a smirk. "Harsh!" He never would have pegged Hinata as a seductress and really, he didn't think Naruto had the "ass" gene in him.

Damn… he'd really missed out on a lot over the last month.

"I didn't mean to! I- She- We…" Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm gonna go talk to Hinata, I'll see you guys later." Naruto stood up and left the table without a backwards glance. He'd prolonged the inevitable conversation with the girl for far too long.

It was time he made things right.

Kiba gawked at the blond's retreating back. "That little fuck stiffed us for the bill- again! NARUTO YA BASTARD GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Kiba glared in the direction where Naruto had jogged off to.

He always left them with the bill.

"I was going to pay for his lunch and he must've forgot that I'm his ride." Shikamaru scowled.

Naruto didn't know how to take the bus and he was directionally challenged… How the hell was he going to get anywhere? At any rate, he'd probably get a call from Naruto later on and the boy would be asking him to come get him from god knows where...

It was troublesome.

* * *

Naruto was utterly and completely lost.

He'd caught the bus in hopes that it would lead him straight to the Hyuuga estates because really, if he'd asked anyone else for a ride, that person would have to be there for his discussion with Hinata. He didn't want anyone to interfere and he also didn't want to use someone for a ride. But Naruto had forgotten one key flaw in his plan: he had no sense of direction whatsoever.

And it showed.

Generally, if someone sat on a bus for three hours and still didn't notice their surroundings, it would've been clear that they were lost, but not Naruto. No. He'd kept on going until it was the end of the line and now he was in the last place he'd ever want to be: Oto. At least he was in a familiar-ish part of the city. He was sure that Sui-what's-his-face's shop was nearby if he remembered correctly.

He would have to thank Sasuke later.

Kind of.

He really fucking loathed Oto.

And all of his reasons for hating the corrupt city were right in his face. Naruto hated the smells, the pollution, the people, and, most of all, the way the people stared at him. People were staring at him and he knew that they were thinking one of two things: they were better than him (this he highly doubted but Oto was known for its hubris) or they were planning to harass him (because it was obvious that he didn't belong). He wasn't too keen about either of the reasons for why people might possibly be watching his every move.

With that thought in mind, he dug in his pocket and pulled out his cellphone so that he could call and ask Shika to pick him up and get him the hell out of Oto.

But it was just his luck that he had no service. He would add that to the list of shitty things that Oto had to offer.

"Hey, you're not from around here are you?" And how cliched was that.

Tired cerulean eyes gazed at the group that had approached and Naruto wanted to throw a tantrum. He knew being stuck in this particular city was dangerous and he knew the chances of being robbed, beaten, or something to those effects were high. He hadn't expected it to happen so soon. He could easily take on three guys with no problems but the people in Oto… they played dirty and they were inhuman.

For instance, the six guys who were slowly surrounding him at that very moment... they were a foot taller than him, bulky, and looked like they spent a great portion of their day in the gym. Maybe underground fighting was a more accurate account of what they did in their spare time.

It would be best if he just swallowed his pride and ran away.

Smiling easy enough, Naruto stared between the brutes. "Eh? What gave me away?" Blue eyes caught sight of a familiar sign hanging from the wall in the alley across the street. If he were lucky, he'd be able to make a mad dash towards the shop.

He'd be even luckier if someone agreed to help him once he got there.

"The tan and that blond hair. Is it real?"

"Or we could just find out ourselves if you catch my drift."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. That was definitely his cue to go. "As nice as that sounds, I'm running late and I really have to go." He tried to walk away but he should've known it would be a wasted attempt.

The leader of the group grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop and Naruto shrugged him off. "Don't fucking touch me." He wasn't going down without a fight and without a second thought he punched the bastard when he reached for him again.

"Oh! We found ourselves a feisty one." The leader of the group glanced between his underlings. "Make sure the bitch can't get anywhere."

Naruto braced himself for a fight and just when he was sure there would be one, a voice broke through the tensed silence.

"Attacking helpless prey are we? Let's hope you're not as helpless as he is."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **Okay... This is a few days late but I had finals, finals, finals... Sigh. I'm so glad they're done and over with, until next semester that is. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

* * *

**So if you dig it, drop me a line. **


	4. Girls Are Trouble But So Are Boys

**WARNING: **_Language. Cheesy humor. OOC Sai because I needed someone like him. Slight SasuSaku. The usual cliffhanger._

* * *

**ALL STARTED WITH A FEW PIERCINGS  
**

_Four: Girls Are Trouble But... So Are Boys  
_

* * *

"Aren't you stunning…" Dark eyes carefully took in the blond leaning casually in the doorway.

Ino grinned before she pulled Sai inside and hugged him. "You're one to talk! Look at you!" She whistled lowly as he spun once for her.

Despite what most had to say about Sai Uchiha, Ino was completely smitten with the queen. It was pure coincidence that they became a duo and they could thank Sakura for that. Sai didn't particularly care for her, he never had, and he didn't hide it in the least. Long before she and Sasuke began a relationship even. Now that they were, he considered her a parasite the sucked the life from his cousin and not a moment in which they were in contact went by without him telling her so.

That aside, three years ago when he and Sakura had met, it was dislike at first sight. Sai had popped a squat across from Sakura and told the girl how her beauty paled in comparison to the (at the time) random beauty beside her (that being Ino). Of course, Sakura didn't go without retorting and she'd called him, to everyone's great amusement (especially Sai's), a "flaming princess".

To which he responded that yes, yes he was.

He was indeed a flaming princess and he was proud of it.

Ino rather enjoyed the whole thing at the time and she knew she loved him from the start. She'd deemed Sai _her_ "flaming Princess" and Sai didn't mind.

They'd been the best of friends since day one.

"I try." And Sai was only partially joking.

"And you never fail. Now come, we have a shit ton to do before people start coming over."

The two made their way into Ino's spacious home and set up base in the living room. They were going to plan the sleepover of the year even if it took them all afternoon. Sai was known for throwing the best parties and, when put together with Ino, they were a force to be reckoned with. So who better to call in for help than Sai? No one. Although, Ino didn't really want a party per se this time around but she still wanted to have a good time and Sai was still good for that.

Ino liked when Sai helped her to make Shikamaru jealous. It was a favorite pastime of sorts. And it was so easy. Whenever she flirted with Naruto, it was fine enough in Shikamaru's eyes but let her flirt, touch, or goof around with someone else (including the painfully obvious queer man currently seated beside her) and there was a problem. And Ino wanted it to be a problem. She wanted to force Shikamaru into action because the lazy asshole was taking his sweet time when it came to wooing her.

Didn't he know that they were running out of time?

The school year was weeks- WEEKS from ending and they'd played chase long enough.

Ino shook her head and stared at the paper in front of her. Right, she had a slumber party that wasn't going to plan itself and she had so little time to plan it in.

"So doll, who's coming to this little gathering?" Sai pulled out his Blackberry and stared at Ino expectantly. He liked to be organized when it came to these types of things.

Ino leaned against the table and glanced at the small list she'd sat to the side. "My life partners, the bastards, Hinata, Sakura, maybe a few other people… I dunno." She felt like she was forgetting people but it didn't matter, they'd figure it out.

Sai's face scrunched with disdain as his dark gaze met aqua. "Sakura? You're honestly inviting her?"

"She's Sasuke's girlfriend..." She was also Ino's friend but she was Sasuke's girlfriend and it made more sense that the two would come as a pair.

What kind of person would she be if she invited one and not the other?

"And."

Ino frowned. "Tell me why I shouldn't invite her besides the fact that you don't like her?"

Sai raised an eyebrow because he couldn't believe he needed to point out the obvious. "She's a bitch for starters and she hates Naruto. That being the case, why the hell would you want someone at your party who hates your_ best friend_?"

It made no sense to Sai for Ino to invite people to a party where they wouldn't like people from her inner circle. No sense at all. Sakura didn't make it obvious but she didn't hide the fact that she wasn't too fond of Naruto. But it seemed as though everyone was in denial when it came to the girl's dislike of Naruto.

Just because most people adored him, it didn't mean that everyone did and he was certain Sakura was part of the rare few who'd found a reason to hate the boy.

"The 'bitch' bit I can agree with but the thing about Naruto…" Ino scoffed at the thought. "Why wouldn't she like her boyfriend's best friend?"

"Oh I don't know…" Sai rolled his eyes skyward, "maybe because said boyfriend and his best friend have some fucked up little love thing going on that they're too ignorant to acknowledge. But that's just my guess." He finished typing the list into his phone before he resumed staring at Ino.

"She doesn't know about that..." Well, Ino grimaced... Sakura was a woman but she was a woman in love, which would make her blind to her boyfriend's flaws (because Sasuke had many in her opinion). At least she hoped. "And Naruto's not a home wrecker. Plus, those two get along just fine when we're all together so I think you're just being a paranoid queen."

Nevertheless, Ino was certain that she would've picked up on Sakura's "hate" vibes. As she remembered it, Sakura was very vocal when it came to expressing how much she didn't care for someone (Sai being the perfect example).

"If you say so… moving on. Did you just want these people or can I invite a few?"

"Who do you have anyone in mind?" Ino didn't like the devious smirk Sai was giving her and she would certainly quash any over the top idea that he had. "And I don't want a thousand people showing up at my house expecting to get shitfaced. This is a small get-together. Not a rave."

Sai's nose scrunched. "Fine, I'll only call Itachi, don't worry." His second favorite pastime: bothering his cousins. They always amused him so.

Ino resisted the urge to sigh dramatically. Whenever Sai would ask her not to worry, it only served to make her do that very thing.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Crimson irises watched in barely concealed awe as Suigetsu placed piercing after piercing onto a gorgeous face. It looked painful and Itachi could handle pain but the man seated in that chair... he looked like he was _enjoying_ it. Savoring it even. Itachi now knew why it was Yahiko held the nickname gorgeous face was being painfully pricked repeatedly by sharp needle in Suigetsu steady hand. And Itachi couldn't take his eyes away.

There were just so many piercings.

Pein had several as it were: seven from ear to lobe, an anti-tragus in each ear, tongue, a Madison, and snakebites. Itachi was mildly surprised when they arrived at Suigetsu's in order for Pein to get a bridge barbell, his right eyebrow, and his nape. At the very least, he did enjoy watching Pein go through such a process. It was interesting to wonder if the man could retain his appeal and allure with so many modifications. And always, without fail, Pein remained as gorgeous as they day they'd met.

Perhaps more so with all of the shit decorating his face.

"Is Juugo coming in today? I need my fucking tat finished." Hidan leaned on the wall beside Itachi as he glared at no one in particular. He hated waiting.

"Don't distract him, yeah. You might make him fuck up." Deidara draped himself over the small redhead off to the side, his smile wide as his lips brushed against the man's ear. "You agree too right Sasori?"

Sasori spared the blond a curt glance. "Hn…" Because he was exactly like his younger cousin, Gaara: stoic and standoffish.

The bell at the front of store chimed signaling an entry and shortly after, Juugo came into view. "Hidan, you can come up stairs with me and we can finish it."

Hidan didn't need to be told twice and he made his way out of the cramped room and up stairs.

Itachi's cellphone buzzed against his hip and he pulled it from his pocket, his eyes darkening as he noted who the call was from. He dreaded every phone call he received from Sai and why he answered… well, he wasn't sure. Maybe a small piece of him liked to think that the next call would be different from the last. Nonetheless, he excused himself from the shop entirely and stood in the alley, his back pressed against the wall as he prepared for the worse. There was no doubt in his mind that the conversation would be short, very fucking short, because he tended to hang up on his cousin whenever the boy began to spew idiocy…

Which was generally the moment Sai opened his mouth.

"What do you want?" Itachi didn't have time to waste. He was next in line to be pierced and, if he weren't quick, Konan would surely take his place.

He couldn't have that.

"_Then I'll make this quick. I'm helping to throw this party of sorts-"  
_

"No." Itachi wasn't in the mood for one of Sai's parties. If he wanted a headache, he'd listen to Hidan and Kakuzu bitch about money.

_"Naruto will be there. So do you have the slightest intention to drop by now?"_

Itachi mulled the idea over for a moment. If Naruto was going to be there then so would Sasuke and the leech he'd claimed as his girlfriend… fate made life far too easy for him. "I'll see." He snapped his phone shut.

They would indeed drop by and he would be guaranteed a very interesting night.

* * *

Sasuke lay in his bed, dark eyes focused on the ceiling as music wafted throughout the room and tangled with his jumbled thoughts. It was a secret pastime of his to lay in bed stark naked after a long hot shower and this time was no exception. Only... he was beginning to regret the thinking that followed laying down.

All of his thoughts, every single one, somehow managed to revolve around, remind him of, or revert back to Naruto.

He blamed Neji and Gaara.

Those bastards… they were digging around his mind for his thoughts on _his_ best friend and now said best friend was all that he could think about. Whenever he closed his eyes, crystalline cobalt eyes, sun-kissed blond locks, and a cheeky grin were what he was met with. Which, given, wasn't a horrid thing but still... Naruto shouldn't fill up so much space in his unoccupied thought reservoir.

His mind drifted back to his earlier conversation with Neji and Gaara. Honestly, Hinata was so undeserving of someone like Naruto. The boy was outgoing, he had spunk, he was sometimes crude but he had a certain charm to him, he was brash, he was funny, and he was gorgeous. Those were all qualities Hinata Hyuuga lacked. Sasuke didn't understand how that particular girl had provoke Naruto's libido in the first place.

Then again, Sasuke was biased.

In his eyes, no one was good enough for Naruto.

He was a tad bit possessive when it came to his best friend and the potential of others possibly stealing Naruto's attention or time away from him personally. Naruto was his first real friend, or at least, the first friend he'd had who didn't expect or want anything more from him than friendship. Sasuke valued that more than anything and he didn't want to lose Naruto to anyone else.

Sure, they'd only known one another for four years or so but he felt like it'd been a life time. He knew Naruto's quirks, his likes and dislikes, his hobbies, his aspirations… hell, Sasuke knew things about Naruto that he didn't even know about himself and that was saying something. And the more he discovered about the endless simple puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki, the more he wanted to keep the boy all to himself.

Sasuke didn't want to sound sappy but he could understand why everyone so easily gravitated towards the boy. There were just so many unique reasons and things to love about Naruto that Sasuke couldn't fathom loving in someone else.

Sasuke loved how obnoxious and naïve Naruto tended to be, which, in retrospect, was a quality he generally hated.

Sasuke loved Naruto's big mouth that always spewed optimisms no matter the occasion- he loved even when it annoyed him.

Sasuke loved the confidence that weaved into Naruto's arrogance because it both rivaled and clashed with his own.

And Sasuke regretfully loved Naruto's blunt honesty because the boy wasn't afraid to tell him the truth and would blatantly disregard Sasuke's care for hearing shit that he didn't want to.

Sasuke even liked the fact that Itachi liked Naruto because his brother had very few people that he openly acknowledged and admitted to liking.

That was a good sign from the start.

But then there were the little things that Sasuke found he liked about Naruto too. The slight blush that would dust over tan cheeks whenever Naruto was embarrassed because it was rare for him to ever actually feel embarrassed about anything. The fact that every time he was with Naruto, he was never bored. They could sit around and do jack shit for an entire day and it would still feel like a day well spent. Naruto always understood him and his intentions without the need to be verbally assured or informed.

Naruto, Naruto, Naruto… there were so many little things that Sasuke liked about his ironically brilliant best friend.

And just maybe, because of all of those things, the idea of delving a bit deeper, of breaching that line between friendship and something so much more had relentlessly been nipping at the edges of his mind more so than usual the last couple of months.

Something told Sasuke that Naruto wouldn't entirely object to the idea if he ever decided to bring it up.

A frown marred Sasuke's gorgeous face as he rolled onto his side. There were a lot of things that he knew and did with Naruto that he wouldn't- couldn't- care to know about or do with anyone else. There were a lot of thoughts that had manifested about his best friend that he'd never thought about in relation to anyone else.

Not even Sakura.

Sakura who'd once reminded him of Naruto because of _all_ _the little things_. She'd befriend him with no expectations (just as Naruto had) during their junior year and they'd remained friends up until three months ago. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino had gone out of town with Kiba's family for spring break and he'd had no one to hang out with save for Sakura...

* * *

"_Hey, do you wanna go catch a movie or something? I mean, honestly, I never knew how bored things around here got when Ino went away on vaction with her pups._"

Sasuke smirked. "So you only call me when you're bored now?" Life was rather dull when Naruto was absent but he would never admit that.

Sakura laughed, the sound muffling the speaker. "_Does that mean you want me to come to your place or are you dragging your ass over here?_"

"I'll be there in ten." Sasuke snapped his cellphone shut and slid off of his bed to get dress.

If he was going to waste time, at least he'd do so productively.

* * *

Dark eyes carefully scrutinized the petite girl ambling her way down the driveway and Sasuke came to one conclusion: Sakura Haruno wasn't in the least bit ugly. Her dress was nothing that he hadn't seen before but it fit her like a glove and those knee high boots that hugged her calves… he damned himself for being somewhat of a leg man. How hadn't he noticed how _beautiful_ Sakura was when they were with the rest of the group? Well, he could admit (only to himself) that he didn't notice much whenever they were with everyone else.

Still... tonight it would just be he and Sakura and maybe, now that his interest was a bit more piqued, it wouldn't be a complete waste of his time.

Sakura slid into the front seat and slammed the door closed behind her. "Chop, chop, or else we'll be stuck in the front."

"You're just lucky that I hate the front as much as the next person."

Sakura grinned before she stuck her tongue out at him.

Sasuke lips twitched upward ever so slightly and then he stepped on the gas.

* * *

Sasuke smirked as he stared down into Sakura's blazing jade irises, his hand still massaging his stinging cheek. They'd paused outside of a potential place to eat and when she'd turned to ask him his opinion, he'd dove in for a kiss. He'd expected her to kiss him back and then be easily coerced into his bed so that they could fuck and forget about it come morning but no, she'd slapped the shit out of him.

Which was the last thing he'd expected her to do.

Despite being friends of sorts, Sasuke knew that all girls held some attraction to him whether it was because of his name or his face and he'd assumed that Sakura was no different. He'd thought her "lack of interest" was nothing more than a clever rouse... So how was he supposed to know that when she'd asked to hang out that that was all they'd be doing?

"Asshole! You can't just- you- Ugh…" Sakura pushed Sasuke aside and began to angrily walk towards where she hoped bus stop would be.

Sasuke sighed and followed after the irate girl. "Wait, wait, wait..." He didn't want to fuck up everything based upon one slip. If Naruto got wind of it... god, he would never here the end of how he'd "chased off another friend with his douchbagery" and he was annoyed at the very thought of being annoyed.

That aside, it was a rare day when he found someone like Sakura… someone who'd had the gall to slap him.

Just like Naruto would.

Was it weird that he was a little bit turned on?

Sakura stopped once she reached the bus stop and she glared at Sasuke as he approached her. "Go away. I'm not and will never be one of your tramps and I'm insulted that you would even-"

"I'm sorry, I got carried away."

"Damn right you did. Why would you even think that it's okay to just-"

"Because I like you, Sakura."

Sakura's mouth opened and then shut.

Sasuke liked her?

Sasuke I-get-bored-easily Uchiha- I fuck anything with a hole Sasuke Uchiha was actually admitting to liking her?

"Bullshit!" She wouldn't buy that for a second. Matter of fact, she'd make a bet with the devil that Sasuke was just a horny fuck and she was his closest piece of ass.

Sasuke laughed aloud. Even he didn't believe himself but he was willing to try. "I do and maybe kissing you wasn't the best way to spell it out but," he shrugged. "I really do like you."

"Prove it."

"Prove it?"

Sakura turned to fully face him, her emerald eyes meeting his ebony. "Yes. If you like me, then you won't try to fuck me within the first month of dating me, which I highly doubt is possible."

A challenge? Did Sakura not know how much he loved a challenge? Sasuke smirked. "And what will that prove?"

"That you're not a prick who just wants a good fuck and that you're boyfriend material."

"You have a deal."

And that was the day Sasuke allowed himself to be partially tamed for the sole purpose of reaching a goal. That was the day he began dating Sakura Haruno and a month later, they made their relationship officially.

* * *

Naruto… When it came down to it, he'd dated Sakura because of Naruto.

At the time, she was so much like him yet she wasn't Naruto. Because of that Sasuke didn't have to worry about ruining their friendship if things went sour. They'd barely had one from the very beginning. He didn't have to worry about whether or not he was good enough because it was the challenge that spurred him onwards in the first place. All of the risks and potential hazards of dating Naruto were removed when he'd started dating someone that reminded him of his idiot best friend.

And that was to say that everything he thought he felt for Sakura, everything their relationship was built on, was owed to Naruto. All of the feelings- (the ones that fucked with his head, the ones that he tried to ignore, the ones that he would play off as flirting between friends) they were real. But they weren't meant for Sakura.

Sasuke didn't love her, he doubted that he even liked her save for the fact that she was the closest he could ever get to having what he really wanted: Naruto Uzumaki.

Fuck his life…

He liked Naruto…

He liked _Naruto_ beyond wanting to simply _screw_ his _best friend_.

Hell, he liked Naruto beyond being best friends. Period.

He really, really…

Sasuke groaned and sat up. "FUCK!"

He needed to break up with Sakura.

He wasn't above fucking people over but there were a hand full of people that he would never think to do such a thing to. His mother and Itachi were at the very top of that list followed by Naruto. Whatever the fuck it was that he felt for his best friend, he needed to properly figure it out and he couldn't do that with Sakura around.

More than that, she deserved to be let down gently. He'd dated her longer than he'd ever allowed himself to date anyone and it wasn't entirely an awful thing. He knew things about her, she knew shit about him… he could break things off with her amicably enough and they could both just move on.

And then he could work out how to deal with the Naruto situation…

Sasuke grabbed his cellphone from his nightstand and turned it on. It had died a while ago and this was the first time he'd turned it on in two days... He probably had a shit ton of missed everything. The screen blinked to life, the logo flashing by before he was assaulted by a barrage of texts and missed calls- most of them from Sakura. He sighed and pressed speed dial nineteen and the phone rung all of once before it was answered.

"_We need to talk Sasuke_."

Sasuke noted how pissed she sounded and wondered if they could end their relationship with a quickie. Angry sex was the best sex after all. "I know. I'll be over in a little bit."

He ended the call and stood from his bed. He didn't know what he'd do after he broke up with Sakura or if he should talk to Naruto or… Sasuke wasn't sure but he wasn't one to sit and plan shit out either.

One step at a time.

He'd end things with her and go from there.

That was all he could do.

* * *

Sakura sat at the edge of her bed, her dark green eyes trained on Sasuke as he leaned against the wall closest to her door. "I don't even know where to start." She was tired. Tired of being placed second, tired of competing, tired of their relationship not working but…

"If this is about me not answering my phone-"

"This has nothing to do with you not answering your fucking phone- I'm not even mad that you forgot about our _plans_ last night. No Sasuke, our problems go beyond you and your phone. Fuck your phone!" Sakura stood from the bed, her eyes scathing as she stared at him. "_This_ has everything to do with _you_ neglecting _me_, your _girlfriend_." Her voice was steady and venomous, her fury mounting as she continued to stare at Sasuke's indifferent face.

For the most part, Sasuke was already bored with where their conversation was headed. It was just like the last one they'd had about- "Naruto, right? You're gonna bring him into the bullshit between us aren't you?" He was tired of her blaming his moron for their issues, tired of her making Naruto self-conscious when it came to how much time they spent together, because it was no one's business what he and Naruto did.

No one's.

Sakura laughed, the sound hollow and dark. "Wow… you couldn't even sit here with me for more than five minutes without mentioning him. Are you blind? Are you really that oblivious to how warped your world perception is when he's in the picture?" Her eyes stung as she resisted the urge to cry. "You have some sort of tunnel vision when it fucking comes to _Naruto_ and it's really sad, a bit pathetic even, that you haven't noticed."

Sasuke's onyx irises narrowed. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me just fine. You're his puppy, Sasuke. You come to his every beck and call, you trail behind him when he walks away, you dote on him foot and hand, and here I thought I was your girlfriend but I should've seen this coming." Sakura couldn't help it when her vision began to blur. "Who would've thought the mighty Sasuke Uchiha would end up someone else's bitch." She knew what she was saying, knew what the result would be, and she was hoping-

Sasuke laughed darkly as he leaned heavily against the wall. "Naruto's bitch…" Was that what he was? Was that how everyone saw their relationship? Was that why his thoughts focused in on the boy he called his best friend? He was no one's bitch and he would stave breaking things off with Sakura if only to prove that very point. "What do you want from me Sakura? Do you want me to choose between you and Naruto?" On any other day, the decision would first and foremost be Naruto but today… Sasuke could postpone figuring things out with Naruto a while longer.

His pride was on the line here and what was another week or two.

Naruto wasn't going anywhere.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand before staring at him again. "I want you to notice me the way you notice Naruto." Maybe she was getting somewhere after all. "I'm your girlfriend and I want you to treat me as well as you treat him, better even. I'm the one you're in love with, I'm the one who loves you, and I'm the one you make love to, not him."

Sasuke stared at her, his amusement carefully tucked away.

He wasn't in love with Sakura, though, he did like her, certain points to her, and she never felt like a waste of time. And he knew it was thoughts like those that should've clued him in on the idea that a relationship wasn't meant to be but he'd been bored and Naruto… There would be another time and another way to let her know. Right now he had to prove that he was no one's bitch, not even hers, and he would do so expertly. Naruto wasn't going anywhere any time soon nor was he or Sakura.

But things would eventually come to an end.

Just not at that very moment.

"I can do that." Sasuke wasn't surprised when her eyes widened and she darted from the bed and straight into his arms.

"I didn't…"

And he listened as she blubbered and kissed him until it led to the bed.

At least something good had came from his visit.

* * *

"Attacking helpless pray are we? Let's just hope that you're not as helpless as he is."

"I'm not helpless, I'm just outnumbered by a bunch of assholes." Naruto watched wide eyed as the auburn haired man who'd come to his aide effortlessly knocked aside the group's leader.

"Pein?" The remaining thugs glanced between Pein and the blond boy before they took off as quickly as they could.

Naruto blanched as he stared at their retreating backs. They hadn't been as strong as he'd first assumed and now... well, now he was just stuck with another random (albeit sexy) bastard from Oto. "You scared your friends away?" Sure, he sounded cheeky but he was prepared for the worst.

Pein's emerald eyes lit with mirth as he studied the boy in front of him. "They weren't my friends."

Naruto took his time studying the man standing in front of him. He had a bunch of piercings and, generally, that didn't look good (on anyone) but the man in front of him was gorgeous. So very gorgeous. It was a nice deviation from the Oto standard norm. Naruto shook his head. He didn't have time to contemplate how sexy his "savior" was, not when there was a high probability that the guy was a dangerous bastard. He was still in Oto and Naruto would never openly trust anyone from such a decrepit part of the city.

Not even a handsome stranger.

For all he knew, the outward beauty could be a ploy for the thief that lurked inside.

So Naruto would tread carefully. "They seemed to know you."

A small smirked etched its way onto Pein's face. "I'm a well known person, especially around here, so I'm not really surprised that they recognized me. Still, I just saved your ass, quite literally mind you, and here you are giving _me_ the third degree."

Naruto scowled. "I didn't ask for your help and I could've handled it myself."

"Sure you could've. And I'm-"

"Hey Pein, what the fuck are you doing?"

Naruto watched as a man with slicked back silver hair rounded the corner and paused to stare at him.

"Eh? We don't have time for you to fuck around with some pretty boy, although, I can see why you'd want to." Hidan eyed Naruto appreciatively, more so when the boy frowned.

"Enough Hidan."

Azure eyes widened and a smile lit Naruto's face as Itachi came into view alongside Gaara's cousin, Sasori. If he had to label the moment, he'd consider it a grand fucking coincidence.

"Itachi!" Naruto walked around the two men blocking his path and pulled Itachi into a quick hug. He thanked the higher power above for Itachi's presence and his ticket out of Oto.

Itachi ran his fingers through coarse blond locks as he stared at the boy attached to him. "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto… What are you doing _here_ and by yourself no less?" He ignored the curious glances his acquaintances were sending his way.

Itachi Uchiha never explained himself.

"Well…" Naruto released Itachi and didn't bother to hide his embarrassment. He was a man and he'd gotten lost. There was nothing he could do to repair such a pride breaking fact. "I caught the wrong bus and this is where I ended up. I was going to call someone, ya know, but my cellphone doesn't get reception out here and then it died..."

Itachi nodded solemnly for he tended to have the same problem with his phone from time to time. Still… "I suppose but-"

"Don't be rude, yeah. Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Deidara eyed Naruto briefly while he tried to decide if the boy was likeable.

Itachi's gaze narrowed as he stared at the moron draped over Sasori. "The buffoon who just spoke is Deidara, the loud one from earlier is Hidan, you already know Sasori, and that is Pein." He glanced at Naruto and allowed a brief smile to touch his usually stoic face. "This is Naruto and he is like family to me." That last bit was added on as a warning.

And everyone knew this.

Sasori's lips quirked slightly. "Good to see you again Naruto."

"You too Sasori." Naruto had only met Gaara's cousin a few times but he remembered the encounters as pleasant one.

Hidan huffed loudly as he glanced around suspiciously. "Look, as nice as this fucking queer powwow is, we gotta get the fuck out of here before that snake bastard finds out that we ditched work."

"Yea, yea… you coming?" Pein glanced at Naruto, a smirk on his gorgeous face.

Blue depths peered questioningly at Itachi who only smiled at him softly in return. "You may ride with him if you please Naru. We're all going to the same place after all."

"Don't be shy, I promise, I don't bite."

Naruto scoffed. "I'm not shy, come on." A little intimidated by the gorgeous man… _that_ Naruto could admit to (but only to himself).

"I'll lead the way." Itachi headed in the direction of his car, his plan setting into motion without the need for him to set it up himself.

Naruto and Pein had met.

It was a start.

* * *

"Fuck." Shikamaru glanced at his cellphone for the nth time that night and still, there was no word from Naruto. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" Shikamaru stood in Ino's living room pacing back and forth. _'Where the fucks are you Naruto?'_

Only Naruto could render the usually composed Shikamaru Nara a hapless mess.

And Shikamaru entirely blamed himself.

After Naruto left them that afternoon, Ino called them over so that they could all help her and Sai set up for sleepover. She had assumed Naruto would be with them but when he wasn't she'd tried to call him. And he didn't answer, which was fine. Naruto was known for not answering his phone and he usually called people back after twenty or so minutes.

One hour into setting up and they hadn't received a call from Naruto and that's when the three of them began to worry.

Shikamaru had called Hinata and asked the Hyuuga heiress Naruto had made it to her house and, as they feared, he hadn't. Then Kiba remembered how Naruto had absolutely no sense of direction, none whatsoever, yet they'd let him catch the bus all by himself.

Ino was fucking furious. She didn't understand how they could have forgotten something that was so important?

Through all of this, the only level-headed one was Sai.

He'd explained to the three of them that they were smothering Naruto because he wasn't a helpless child. Really, Sai thought their codependency to be a tad extreme and a bit frightening... maybe cute too. But, above all of those things, he knew that they needed to loosen the reigns that they had on one another (namely Naruto).

How was Naruto ever going to do or achieve anything in his life when everyone made it their top priority to baby him?

Begrudgingly, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba knew that Sai had a valid point. Maybe they were the ones who needed to lay off. Or at least that was what they'd thought until another two hours ticked by and they still hadn't heard from Naruto.

Nobody had.

By then, even Sai had started to worry.

"Calm down Shika, we still don't know if he's with Sasuke, Gaara, or Neji. Hell, he could even be visiting Shino or Chouji." Ino tried to think positively as she watched Kiba and Sai call number after number in their contacts lists.

"No, he's not with any of them. I have reason to believe he's…" Sai paused and glanced down at his phone.

_We are family, I got all my sisters with me…_

"Itachi!" Sai smiled. Itachi never called him thus he hadn't thought that his cousin would call him back.

"_Sasuke called me and I assumed the reason you called is the same as his. Naruto is fine and I'll return him by the time Ino's party begins._" With that said, Itachi hung up. He'd said all that he needed to say.

"You can all stop your worrying, Naru's with Itachi and he's fine. They'll be here by the time the party gets started." Sai smiled and it wasn't a fake smile. He was happy the little codependent twat had been found because no party wasn't the same without a drunk Naruto.

The other three sighed in relief.

Naruto was going to get his ass kicked whenever he finally arrived at Ino's house.

* * *

Ino and Sai exchanged glances when Sakura and Sasuke walked into the house, Hinata following quietly behind them. Ino had been positive when she spoke to Sakura the night before that Sakura and Sasuke weren't doing too good but now… now they looked like they were doing better than ever.

Sai rolled his eyes. He knew his cousin because, innately, all Uchihas held the same traits. That being the case, Sai knew that Sasuke wasn't in love with the bitchy Sakura Haruno. And he made it his personal mission to expose the truth before the night was over. He really didn't understand why the she devil insisted on latching on to a relationship that was doomed from the start.

It was madness.

"Hi Hina." Ino smiled at the shy girl who looked a little downtrodden but Ino was sure that things would get better once more people showed up.

"H-hello Ino. Did you find Naruto?" She blushed as she thought about the boy because things were still very shaky between the two of them.

"Yea, Naruto will be here later."

"And he better be or we'll all need to _discuss_ why he isn't." Gaara gaze was hard as he stared forth.

"Excuse him Ino, he didn't believe me when I told him that Naruto would be arriving safely with Itachi."

Ino easily dismissed Gaara's threat in favor of squealing happily before eagerly hugging Neji and Gaara. She hadn't seen them in so long... but that didn't stop her from thinking it odd that the two had showed up at her house together. Last time she checked, they hated each other.

Didn't they?

"Well, well, well, lets have fun boys because it's lookin' to be a very long and interesting night." Sai stepped aside as Gaara and Neji made their way into the house and down the stairs. "Now we just have to wait for small dick and Itachi to get here." His smirk persisted, even after Ino punched him.

Some people couldn't take a joke.

* * *

Ino and Sai stared on in amazement as Naruto walked up the Yamanaka driveway with several gorgeous people trailing behind him.

Why?

Why was Naruto always the lucky one?

What god or goddess of fortune did he have on his side?

The two in the doorway glanced at the group and shared twin smirks when they noticed how close Naruto was to a guy (a sexy piece of meat) with piercings littering his face. And the smile plastered on that handsome devil's face as he listened intently to everything that Naruto was saying was enough to make Ino a little weak in the knees and Sai stiff between them. And since Itachi was also present looking as glorious as ever, it made sense that the horde of beauties in tow were with him.

"Ino!" Naruto flashed the girl his trade mark grin before he walked up to her and hugged the life out of her.

Sai, on the other hand, stared at Naruto appreciatively. He hadn't seen the boy in a few days but he liked the adjustments. "It's good to see you too Naruto." He smirked when Naruto shot him a glare.

Apparently Naruto was still touchy about what happened between them last weekend.

"Now that everyone is here, lets all make our way downstairs shall we." Ino knew better than to let those two get into a heated banter because it always resulted in one of two things: Sai getting his ass handed to him because he refused to hit Naruto back or Sai feeling up Naruto with Naruto's relented consent.

They had a very odd relationship.

"After introductions of course." Sai wanted to know just as well as anybody who the gorgeous bastards standing at the door were and where he could get one from.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "You guys already know Itachi, next to him is Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, and Pein…" Or was he supposed to introduce the man as Yahiko.

Well... it really didn't matter either way because Pein was staring at him like he was the only person that and Naruto wanted to eat that stunning smile right off of Pein's face. The thought made his stomach knot nervously because it'd been a while since he'd felt such a strong attraction to someone... Or maybe his libido was calling out to him.

That was a strong possibility.

"It's about time you got here moron." Sasuke could always pinpoint the exact moment in which Naruto arrived anywhere within in the same vicinity as him. Being that as it may, he'd excused himself from the small party going on in Ino's basement to confirm his suspicions and he didn't like what he was seeing.

He wanted to know why the hell Pein was smiling so tenderly at Naruto. Or better yet, why was Naruto leaning into the arm Pein had wrapped around his shoulders? When and where the hell had those two even met? Then again, Itachi was standing right there so of course... his brother...

And Sasuke didn't like it.

Someone was trying to move in on his territory and- and the rest of that thought was lost when Naruto turned to look at him. And Sasuke would swear that he'd never seen Naruto as beautiful as he was at that very moment... for now anyway.

"Hey bastard." And then there was that dazzling lopsided grin that Naruto was known for and Sasuke was at a loss for words.

Did establishing that he wanted to be more than just Naruto's best friend really make him a bumbling fool?

Yes... yes it did.

"Alright people, lets get this party started with a delightful game of truth or dare: Sai style." Sai was so excited.

There was so much for him to work with that it just wasn't fair to anyone else.

He liked those odds.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **Okay... where to start... I fell out of love with the Naruto fanfiction fandom which is awful, I know. But then I got this stellar review like, three days ago from **_Please finish this__ fic_** and it read:

"_I have been waiting for a fucking year an effing long arse year tooo why must you torture us like this WHYYYYY? I would literally rip out my left kidney and mail it to you just so you could finish this it's soo amazing a few spelling and grammar mistakes but fricking awesome nonetheless. So to cut this little rant short UPDATE SOON PLEASE!_"

So, I read over the previous chapters and cringed but was inspired as I sat for the past two or three days now re-writing them and then finally completely face-lifting/re-writing this one.

Long story short, my interest in this particular fic has been reawakened and I can't wait to keep it going. I apologize in advance to all of those who've been waiting and nothing has come. It's not to say that your reviews didn't help spur this chapter but being yelled at so lovingly... I'm a bit of a masochist I suppose.

With that, I hope you've enjoyed this long overdue chapter. I realized that I started this thing when I was sixteen and now it's finally starting to look and reflect my level of skill to some degree.I couldn't completely erase the idea my 16 year old self had when writing this without destroying the plot or concept that people and myself have come to like (i.e. needing to write an entirely different fic) but still... I hope it's decent.

And I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

My next update won't take nearly a year. I promise.

**Thanks for the unsigned** **reviews:** Tessss, Sasorilover7, Love Ya Ta Death, and of course _Please finish this__ fic_.

* * *

**So if you dug it, drop me a line. **


	5. Secrets Aren't Secret If Two People Know

**WARNING: **_Language. Lap Dancing. Adult themes. Sai. Bitches. Slightly lengthy. A bit angsty.  
_

* * *

**ALL STARTED WITH A FEW PIERCINGS  
**

_Five: A Secret Is Only Secret If One Person Knows  
_

* * *

Shikamaru tiredly glanced around the circle that he'd been forced into and he just knew (because he could feel it and he didn't know how everyone else was able to ignore such a feeling) that this was all going to lead to a world of trouble. Truth or Dare... rarely did it ever lead to anything positive. Shikamaru knew this from personal experience. But everyone had insisted that this would be fun and already it wasn't.

And Shikamaru blamed their seating arrangements for offsetting the disaster to be. Naruto was seated between himself and Pein... and across the room from Sasuke. Not beside the boy, not near him either... across the room... Shikamaru sighed tiredly as he carefully observed the occupants of the circle.

Sasuke was covertly glaring at either Pein or Naruto (Shikamaru wasn't sure at the moment but both were likely candidates). Sakura was ever oblivious to the turmoil brewing just barely beneath the calm façade of her lover as she rambled on about nothing. Naruto was easily flirting with Pein and it sounded as if the two were on par with one another (the slight blush on Naruto's neck said that Pein was winning but only slightly). Everyone else was either lost in their own conversation or observing just as Shikamaru was and really, there was no better performance to watch than the potential one that Naruto and Sasuke would put on.

Shikamaru considered Sai the luckiest of them all. That bastard had a seat right in the middle of all the chaos.

"Alright people, lets get this ball rolling." All talking slowly ceased to be as Sai stood in the middle of the circle. "Here are the rules: I'll start us off by asking someone a truth/dare and then that person can ask someone... so on and so forth. If that person doesn't want to answer or do the task allocated to them, they can take a shot. No more than three shots in this game so use them wisely. The game ends when everyone has had a turn so, if you avoid asking one designated person, this could go on for a while. Any questions?" Sai smirked when no one came forth with a question.

"Then we'll begin with..." Dark eyes moved around the circle before landing on Sai's favorite prey. "Naruto! Give Pein a striptease."

A few people laughed at this, some simply glared, and others stared on curiously.

Naruto looked on thoughtfully, his gaze shifting from Pein to Sai and back to Pein. He was no stranger to stripping down to his skivvies during a party and he was certainly familiar with giving a lap-dance. Naruto had a feeling that it was everyone's favorite task to assign to him. And he was one hell of a dancer (it was one of the few traits that he'd picked up from hanging around a drunken Tsunade and Anko). He also liked the feeling of everyone's attention focused on him... Pein's attention focused on him...

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Pein leaned closer, his mouth ghosting along the crest of Naruto's ear. "But I can't say that I won't be tempted to bite."

Naruto smirked. Pein thought that his silence was a sign of nerves... boy did he have no idea. Being nervous was not synonymous with the name Naruto Uzumaki. "What song?" He stood and stretched a little, his cerulean eyes focused on Sai.

Sai pulled a chair into the middle of the circle before he walked back over to Ino's large entertainment system. "I'll surprise you."

Pein sat down in the chair designated for him as he stared at Naruto who stood in front of him full of confidence. And damn if Pein didn't want to devour that confident smirk set on the boy's face.

Sai dimmed the lights. "Ready?" When Naruto nodded, he started the music (and it was song truly fit for a queen).

Naruto laughed a little and rolled his eyes as Britney Spears "Gimme More" began to circulate around the room. It was so like Sai... That aside, Naruto turned his attention to Pein, blue eyes meeting an intense honey colored gaze. Plump lips twitched upwards as slender hips began to move methodically to the beat. Naruto's long fingers pinched the hem of his t-shirt as he teasingly tugged it upwards to reveal a flat tattooed stomach.

Lithe hips moved methodically from side to side, never straying from the beat, as nimble fingers eagerly tugged that t-shirt off. Plump pink lips quirked upwards as Naruto moved forwards, just close enough for Pein to reach out and graze his hip before he promptly spun away. He unbuttoned his pants as he swayed to the quick beat, his zipper following.

Intense honey hued irises followed Naruto's every movement, from the gyration of his hips to the quirking of his lips. Pein was mesmerized. He wanted nothing more than to devour that gorgeous grin lighting the other boy's face. It would be so easy to just drag Naruto into the room right across from them...

The expression on Pein's face... Naruto loved it. Thrived on it even.

A striptease... god was it fun to tease. With that thought in mind, Naruto unabashedly plopped down in Pein's lap. He was only slightly startled when strong hands grasped at his waist encouraging him to move and guiding his hips. He smiled briefly to himself as he allowed his body to move to Pein's set rhythm, their bodies melding and pressed together so intimately... it was an incredible feeling. One that Naruto thoroughly enjoyed. He was so lost in the music that it was almost too easy to ignore the obvious arousal pressed just so against his jean clad ass.

And he had to ignore it because if he didn't... well... Naruto just had to. They weren't alone. No, he was entertaining for the masses.

So many eyes were on him- on them- and Naruto thrived in the attention. That thought was enough to spur him out of Pein's tantalizing lap. With ease Naruto twisted himself off of Pein before slinking a few feet away. Once on his feet, he smirked and shimmied out of his jeans. His boxers hung loosely and bared the tempting "V" of his slim pelvis. His swaying hips were doing wonders for the imaginations of every occupant in the room.

No one set of eyes could stray from Naruto. The boy lived up to his reputation as he stole the show and made his presence known.

And just as he was making his way back to Pein's lap, the music abruptly stopped and the lights came on, breaking the sensual spell that he'd so carefully crafted.

Everyone turned to Ino who was guiltily holding the plug in her hand. "What? Someone had to do it before it turned X-rated in here." She glanced at Naruto. "Put your clothes back on." Despite her words, a deep flush covered her face and disappeared beneath her blouse. Naruto was hot... Ino knew this and seeing him _like that_ did nothing for the woman inside of her that wouldn't mind tapping that...

"Then I'll take it that I did a good job." Naruto would pat himself on the back later because, after having a look around the room, he'd say he gave more than just Pein a strip-tease.

Pein returned to his initial seat beside Itachi, his eyes lingering on the blond conversing with his friends as he redressed. The things that he would have done to Naruto were they alone...

"You seemed like you were enjoying yourself." Itachi's face was blank and impassive as per usual, however, internally he was rejoicing.

Between the ire that his little brother was stewing in, the pleasant view he'd held from where he was seated, and the coming together of his current meddlesome plan (because Uchihas are eerily as impatient as they are patient and they want things done when they see fit), Itachi was well entertained.

Never would he have imagined that his flawless plan would come together so well. The Fates were on his side it seemed for they'd strung together a glorious string of coincidences that made it seem as if everything had fell into place of its own accord. Naruto's being lost, Pein finding the boy, Ino's party, Sasuke's presence, the beautiful show Naruto had just finished putting on... yes, the Fates definitely held him in their favor.

And Itachi couldn't have planned it better himself.

Pein smirked, his gaze briefly straying from Naruto to meet scarlet irises. "Wasn't that what you wanted. And, go figure, you were right. This won't be a waste of my time."

* * *

"Shika! Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Because, when it came to a _truth_ or a _dare_ from Naruto, Shikamaru found the latter option to be far too troublesome.

Blue eyes glinted beneath the room light. "Do tell the room how you _honestly_ feel about Ino." Naruto already knew the answer to his own question but Ino was uncertain and Shikamaru was taking his sweet time telling her... he just wanted to push them along.

Just a bit.

Shikamaru frowned. He knew what Naruto was doing and he didn't hate him for it but now was not the time... "Give me a shot Sai." He preferred to keep his affairs of the heart private in a sense and he would make it up to Ino (who looked somewhat crushed by his refusal to answer).

And Naruto would pay. Yes, Shikamaru loved him like an annoying little brother of sorts but troublesome people deserved troublesome consequences.

"The first shot of the evening..." Sai happily poured the brunet's shot and watched (amazed) as it was downed no sooner than he'd removed his hand. "Aren't you just a pro at this?"

Shikamaru grunted before glancing in Sasuke's direction. He'd preemptively planned a counter-attack for his particular situation and, in retrospect, his plan wasn't too far off from Naruto's harmless intentions. "Dare or Truth Sasuke?"

A dark brow arched, the only true sign of curiosity etched on Sasuke's pristine face. "Dare." Truly, he wasn't expecting to be picked so soon and by Shikamaru of all people.

"Kiss Naruto and make it believable." Though Shikamaru knew that that wouldn't be a hard feat to achieve considering the two were just aching to step out of the friend-zone and into more dangerous territory.

They just needed the same push as he and Ino.

Following Shikamaru's dare, silence settled over the room in a piqued sort of hush. Kiba easily broke it by guffawing until his eyes watered and several others joined in. Despite the fact that she was semi-pissed at both Shikamaru and Naruto, Ino couldn't resist laughing a little. And Sakura's face only served to make her laugh harder. Hinata blushed deeply as she glanced between Naruto (who was attempting to frown and hide his uncharacteristic flush) and Sasuke (who looked rather smug as he stared across the room at the blond opposite of him) before coming to the realization that yes... those two... perhaps Neji was correct when he'd told her that she'd never have a chance.

Something about Sasuke and Naruto being together... it just seemed right.

And such a dare... it was long past due for the two to do _something_ and nearly everyone in the room was privy to that fact. Save for perhaps the two who were supposed to act out said dare.

"Come here Naruto."

Naruto shook his head as he glared defiantly across the room. "This is your dare, not mine. You should be the one coming over here. Or just take the shot if you're too lazy." Because finding any excuse to not go through with this was at the forefront of Naruto's mind. It just wasn't... and Shikamaru... Naruto grimaced.

He'd set himself up for this.

"Fine, I'll go over there." Sasuke didn't intend to let Naruto escape after the shit he'd pulled only minutes ago. The Uchiha in him urged him to show everyone in the room just who Naruto belonged to. Almost like a dog marking his territory.

"You're actually going through with this?"

Sasuke spared Sakura a brief glance before he stood up. "I never back down from a challenge."

"Hurry up! I wanna get this over with." Naruto felt uneasy and the quicker this all ended the better he would feel.

Onyx eyes danced with amusement. "I'm sure you do."

And before Naruto could say another smartass remark, Sasuke pulled him from the ground and into a kiss.

From the instant their lips touched, Naruto's mind shut down and his instincts took full control. He wound his fingers into the fabric of Sasuke's shirt and gasped as his bottom lip was coaxed into a warm mouth. He would've jerked away, however, skilled hands held him in place before drawing him unbearably close. Naruto was trapped between strong arms and a hard chest. It was so enticing that he could barely think straight. Naruto's mind was engulfed by Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked against plush lips. He had Naruto right where he wanted him. With a well timed nip to the corner of Naruto's mouth, soon it was hanging open in a surprised gasp and he moved in for the kill. Sasuke's tongue easily pushed it's way into Naruto's pliant mouth and he took his time tasting, teasing, and memorizing every nook and contour. His actions drew out a needy mewl from the smaller male and only spurred Sasuke forth. Liquid fire coursed through Sasuke's veins as Naruto clung to him and responded just as easily as he'd dominated him. Everything about Naruto's mouth was addictive- from the taste of Naruto's trident gum to the boy's eager hot and slick tongue pushing back against his own. Naruto in general was like a drug.

And Sasuke didn't think he'd mind getting hooked.

But all too soon, the need to breath arose and the two slowly parted, each staring a bit dazedly at the other as they caught their breath. Sasuke was still holding Naruto in his arms and Naruto continued to cling to Sasuke's shirt.

At least until someone started applauding resulting in the remaining occupants of the room following suit and laughing. At that, Naruto wrenched away from Sasuke and sat in his momentarily abandoned seat (in all actuality, he fell because his knees were a bit weak but he would never admit this).

"It's about time..." Sai whistled in appreciation and stifled his need to laugh when he caught a glimpse of Sakura.

She was seething and it was written all over her beautiful face. Sai almost pitied her. Almost. But he preferred not to pity fools. And, in his personal opinion, she was a foolish individual. As opposed to her glare being directed at Naruto, perhaps it would have been better suited for the boyfriend who'd accepted such a dare. But Sasuke was never at fault in her eyes... Sai shrugged to himself before he turned his attention back to where Sasuke stood towering over a scowling Naruto.

"You're not half bad at this..." The smirk on Sasuke's face only served to further incite Naruto's ire.

Naruto furiously gazed up at the smug Uchiha in front of him before a grin blossomed on his face. "I wish I could say the same for you but... You're pretty lousy."

Before Sasuke could refute such an accusation, Sai was ushering him towards the other end of the room. "Let's give someone else a chance to have fun you two."

* * *

"Hmm... Naruto! Truth or Dare?" Emerald irises danced with amusement as Sakura stared at the smiling boy.

"What is this? Everyone Picks Naruto Day?" Honestly, he'd been at the butt of seven Dares and three Truths... not that Naruto minded but still.

"No, but you and Kiba never turn down anything so you're both easy targets. Now answer the girl or take a shot." Sai wanted so badly to know what it was Sakura was doing and he wouldn't if Naruto didn't quickly move things along.

Naruto stuck his tongue out in Sai's direction before refocusing on Sakura. "Truth."

"Did you really hook-up with Hinata and then leave right after you guys were done?"

A frown pulled at Naruto's lips as his gaze narrowed. "Sakura... that's not-"

"Not an appropriate question, huh? Then maybe I should ask if it's true that you like my boyfriend beyond his being your 'best friend'?" She maliciously. "I'm not sure which question I want to know the answer to more..."

Hinata bit her bottom lip, her face turning bright red and her eyes glistening as she stared, in shock, at her best friend. "How could you?" She didn't give Sakura or anyone a chance to say anything before she darted from the room in embarrassment and shame.

Naruto gaped for a moment, truly at a loss for words until Shikamaru nudged him and drew him back to his senses. He stood up and turned his hardened gaze towards Sakura before belatedly following after Hinata.

Everyone remaining sat in awe as they attempted to process what exactly had just taken place. For those who didn't know about Hinata and Naruto, it was now made painfully obvious. As was Sakura's jealousy when it concerned Naruto and Sasuke's relationship.

"You're a real bitch Sakura... Hinata's supposed to be your best friend and you just..." Kiba shook his head. If he were a girl- hell, if he were Hinata, he would've slapped the bitch right out of Sakura. She'd had the audacity to ask such a question with no remorse whatsoever and that wasn't cool at all.

Ino stood, her face scrunched angrily. "I don't know what the fuck you're trying to do here Sakura Haruno but you better get your shit together. What gives you the right to- to even... ugh!" She threw her hands up and turned her back to Sakura, looking at the girl was really pissing Ino off.

Sakura frowned. "I just posed two simple questions, neither of which he even had to answer. I mean, it was no different from what Naruto asked Shika or what Itachi asked Neji." She twirled her hair between her fingers, feigning innocence. "And everyone already knew about Hinata and Naruto..."

"_Everyone_ doesn't know," Shikamaru vaguely waved his hands around the room, "because _everyone_ wasn't meant to know."

"That's my bad then." Sakura shrugged. She didn't particularly care either way and Hinata would forgive her. That girl understood love just as she did and surely Hinata would understand why she'd done that.

But Sasuke didn't and he was irate. "We need to talk, now." Sasuke didn't give her the chance to argue her case any further as he strode down the hall to the vacant guest room, Sakura quickly following at heels.

Those who remained now wondered what to do as they spoke in hushed tones to the people nearest to them. It was obvious that Truth Or Dare was now over...

Sai laughed as he turned the lights to full power and paused next to Ino. "I told you that hag was out for Naruto's blood." He knew a scorned lover when he saw one but, that aside, he knew that Sakura was a bitch and her earlier outburst was inevitable.

Ino slapped his shoulder. "Yea, for once you were right." Aqua eyes followed Pein as he easily slipped from the room due to all of the commotion. "I'll go bring Naruto and Hina back. Hold down the fort okay?"

She wanted to make sure that those two were alright but her interest were laid in why it was the gorgeous stranger that Itachi had brought along looked like he was headed to do the same.

"Roger." Sai turned to face the room. "Who's down for some strip poker... we can throw in some money too I suppose?"

* * *

"Hina…" Naruto caught up to the sobbing girl who'd managed to make it down the block from Ino's house.

Hinata stopped and turned to properly face Naruto. "I-I'm sorry about- about Sakura. I d-didn't think she would b-be so c-cruel."

Naruto sighed and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "That wasn't your fault... actually, if anyone's to blame for the shit she said, it's me." He smiled sheepishly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and started walking again in the direction of Ino's house. "And I'm also the one who should be apologizing, not you."

"But I-"

He shook his head. "Didn't do anything. The other day... I should've properly turned you down. I'm so sorry that I lead you on and I really never intended to hurt your feelings. I don't regret what we shared because, of all the girls that I could've possibly lost my virginity, I'm glad it was you. I do regret everything that happened afterwards. I'm an asshole and I'm so sorry about all of this."

Hinata smiled meekly and sniffled. "I forgive you so long as you can do the same for me... I- there are a lot of ways that we both, perhaps, could've done things differently... and I- I'm sorry."

"You're absolutely forgiven." A grin stretched across his face as he pulled Hinata into a hug. "Does this mean that we can be friends again?"

A scarlet blush dusted ivory cheeks as Hinata smiled. "I would hope so." Things would still be a bit awkward but she would learn to work past that. She'd made a mistake but that was what youth was about: making mistakes and learning from them.

"It's good to see that you two finally made up!" Ino beamed when Naruto and Hinata's gazes snapped up to see her standing on her front step beside Pein.

Naruto frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Not a word. Scouts honor." Pein mocked a scouts honor and flashed a brilliant smile that caused the girls to blush.

"Since you two are alright, come back inside. I swear, Sakura won't harass you anymore and I'll make her fucking apologize or so help me." Ino was actually prepared to kick her right out of her house but she had a feeling that whatever Sasuke said or did would be enough.

Naruto released Hinata and waved his hand dismissively. "I need another minute alright, but you guys go ahead." He needed to think and clear his mind because he wasn't sure that he could face Sasuke without feeling like an idiot or look at Sakura without feeling the urge to tell her just how low she was for making _her_ best friend upset as a means to humiliate him.

Just thinking about it pissed him off.

"Is it cool if I stay and have a smoke?"

Naruto nonchalantly shrugged as Pein seated himself on the top step.

"Then we'll see you inside..." Ino quickly ushered Hinata inside and made a mental reminder to ask Naruto for details later.

* * *

"What was that?" Sasuke tone was acidic and his gaze was frigid as he stared at Sakura.

He was livid and Sakura was slightly mortified. She had never heard or seen Sasuke so upset, not even after he beat the shit out of the bastards who picked fights with him whenever he showed up around certain parts of Oto. No memory that resurfaced at the moment discerned a time when Sasuke had been as mad as he was at current. And Sakura didn't believe that she'd done anything to warrant such a foul attitude being directed at her. Oh wait, yes she had... when it came to Naruto, Sasuke's emotions _always_ uncharacteristically surfaced. She highly doubted that he even noticed how much he didn't behave like himself (or an Uchiha for that matter) when it came to that bumbling blond idiot.

Jade irises narrowed as Sakura glared at her boyfriend. How dare he be so upset and over Naruto- fucking _Naruto_ of all people... She hated _him_ and Sasuke's defending _him_ pissed her off immensely. "I didn't do anything wrong. If anything, what the fuck was that you pulled earlier? You _kissed_ him, Sasuke. Kissed! And you damn sure weren't hiding the fact that you enjoyed it." She truly didn't want to believe that but how could she not. He'd never kissed her like that.

Or maybe it was all Naruto... Naruto had a way of screwing with their relationship and Sakura didn't understand it.

"I kissed Naruto, you kissed Ino, we're even in that regard. That aside, I'm over you taking your insecurities out on Naruto. He has nothing to do with us, absolutely nothing. I _was_ with you, I considered you my lover, not him, but you can't seem to wrap your head around that. And I'm over it." Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Their breakup was a long time in coming and it was pointless to keep at it.

He'd wanted to try, at least to prove a point to himself but it wasn't worth it. He was fed up with her and her always dragging Naruto into shit that had nothing to do with him. It wasn't fair and, at the very least, Sasuke knew the loyalty of being a best friend.

"What? Are you being serious?" Sakura stared at Sasuke, eyes wide and glistening. Was he really trying to break things off over a few _questions_ asked during a truth or dare game? "Tell me you're just mad. Tell me that you're not trying to end _everything that we've built_ over a stupid fucking basement game."

"Sakura..." Sasuke sat on the edge of the dresser and stared ahead, his eyes meeting hers. "We don't work. Never have. I'm actually surprised we made it this far. I'm sorry we wasted so much time in this but its done." He'd said it as gently as possible because he owed her that much but the truth was never a nice thing to hear in situations such as hers.

Sakura stalked forward, stopping when she stood directly in front of Sasuke. "Are you telling me that everything we talked about earlier, everything we've ever done up until this point, has never worked for you?"

"I am." He'd had fun, he'd even enjoyed her company when she wasn't pushing her insecurities and jealousy issues onto him. But he didn't have feelings for her, not the ones she wanted.

Plus, there was Naruto...

With little thought on the matter, Sakura drew her hand back and slapped Sasuke with all of her might. "You bastard!" She watched in mute fascination as his head whipped to the right. "All of this time and you... you're such an asshole." Sakura crumpled to the floor, tears trailing down her face as she sat there heart broken.

Sasuke winced and rubbed held his cheek. "I'm sor-"

"Just get the fuck out." Sakura didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't want to see him. She certainly didn't want his pity. Her mind, body, and soul were in disarray and she just... she couldn't take it because she still loved him so much.

It hurt.

Sasuke silently moved from the dresser and over to the door sparing her one last glance. He'd dated plenty of women and a few men but Sakura was the first he'd truly felt some remorse about. She wasn't a bad girlfriend and in a different lifetime, maybe one without Naruto, she would've been perfect for him.

It was too bad she'd never know that.

* * *

Naruto openly stared at Pein as the older man smoked his cigarette. Despite his emotional state, a nagging voice at the back of his mind sorely wished to be _that_ cigarette as pale lips wrapped around the filter. He mentally sighed as his gaze drifted to skyward.

Why?

Why did he have a kink for delinquents?

Sasuke had started that trend of attraction and it'd stuck. Naruto hated him for it because the bad boys were the first to break hearts. Even knowing that, there was something about Pein, something that he was irrevocably drawn to... ah, the man's charisma. He'd only spoken to him a handful of times throughout the day but they had chemistry and every conversation he learned a bit more.

Pein was an intelligent guy with the wit and charm to back it (which reminded Naruto of both Shikamaru and Sasuke).

He was intimidating yet there was a certain degree of underlying softness that was inviting when he wanted it to be (which were qualities that Naruto had always admired in both Neji and Gaara).

And a certain air of mystery and cunning surrounded the man, which, subsequently drew in the masses (much like Itachi).

Naruto blinked... was he attracted to Pein simply because the man shared likeness to those closest to him? Naruto frowned. How had his time to think about Sasuke and Hinata turned into the Pein wonder hour? The guy was a distraction.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Pein's gorgeous amber eyes swirled with amusement as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto stood and stretched, unaware of the eyes trained on his midsection. "Sure..." He set the pace, leisurely walking down the sidewalk with Pein beside him. It was a gorgeous night and he could see the stars for a change. Staring at the vast sky helped to ease his mind and reminded him that the world was so much bigger than his trivial social concerns.

It was a comforting thought.

"I never pegged you as the quiet type."

"Yea, well... I have my moments." Naruto would've blamed Sakura but at least one good thing had come out of her bitch fit: he'd made up with Hinata.

Pein nodded and tossed aside the bud of his cigarette. "Would it be rude if I asked if any of that shit Sasuke's girl said back there was true?"

Naruto smirked. "Depends. Why are you asking?"

A smirk tugged at Pein's lips as he stopped walking and stared at Naruto. "Well, if you're in love with Itachi's kid brother then my chances with you go to shit and that'd just be disappointing."

Wow... Naruto was a bit taken aback by the man's honesty but he was fully flattered that he wasn't the only one feeling a spark for a change. "All of the bullshit concerning Sasuke is complicated but I've never let how I do or don't feel about him screw around with my personal relationships."

"Is that so." It was more of a statement than a question, both of them knew as much. "Then I'll say it clearly, you're my type and I'd like to take your mind off of Itachi's kid brother for a while."

The shit-eating grin that settled onto Naruto's face was dazzling. "You've been doing a good job of that so far."

Pein smiled wickedly as he moved forward, his hand catching Naruto's chin. "Lets see how long I can keep at it then."

Naruto welcomed Pein's lips as he was pulled forward into a rather sweet kiss. His whole body jolted to life and tingled the instant Pein's lips touched his. And when the man pulled away only to then press their foreheads together, Naruto's heart picked up speed.

A part of him felt guilty, like he was betraying his feelings for Sasuke, which wasn't fair to Pein. Wasn't it wrong to instigate any type of an intimate relationship with Pein (or anyone else for that matter) when he was in love with Sasuke? But he was attracted to the man tenderly staring at him and their chemistry was incredible... so why not consider dating a stranger? Why not try to move on? Sasuke already belonged to someone else and seeing as Naruto had no intentions of breaking that up, why should he torture himself with one-sided feelings?

He couldn't wait for Sasuke forever and it was time he stopped that vicious waiting cycle.

"You're still going strong." Naruto's voice was soft and held a sensual lit as it filled the space between them and caressed Pein's lips.

Pein smiled.

* * *

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke stopped beside the table where a great deal of the parties occupants sat.

Most of them nearly naked. With Itachi, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Neji in the game, everyone else had lost long before they'd begun. Ino looked cold sitting there in nothing but a bra and her thong. Kiba looked plastered and was down to his boxers. Sai just looked... like Sai: suspicious and perverted. Sasori seemed to be holding his own as he ignored Deidara who was liesurely sucking on his neck. And Hinata looked like a deer caught in the headlights wearing Neji's t-shirt as Hidan shamelessly hit on her. But, what stood out more than any of those things was Naruto's absence.

Were he present, the game would've long been over. Naruto was an undercover poker genius.

"He's outside somewhere with Pein." Ino smirked dubiously at the expression that briefly crossed Sauske's face. Served him right for taking his sweet time.

Before the snide comment sitting at the tip of Sasuke's tongue could be uttered, in walked Naruto who seemed rather comfortable with Pein's arm around his shoulders and a smile on his face.

"Eh? Did you assholes start without me because you were afraid I'd own you all in poker?"

"You think you'd beat me?"

Naruto smirked and walked towards the table, Pein trailing just so behind him. "Deal us in."

Sasuke watched the exchange between the two (from their body language to their tones) and it was made painfully obvious that his window to lay claim to Naruto had finally closed.

And Sasuke wasn't the only one who'd noted the shift in the behavior of the two who'd just rejoined the party.

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru lightly shook his head and glanced at his hand. He'd already assumed that something so cliché would happen and, low and behold, there it was in the form of Pein and Naruto.

"Would you like to play as well little brother?" Onyx irises studied Sasuke and Itachi was pleased.

His brother was seething and though his face portrayed nothing, his gaze spoke in volumes. It was an Uchiha trait to convey a message via one glance and Sasuke was able to do so expertly. Itachi was proud- he'd taught Sasuke well. That aside, everything was going smoothly- plan wise. Itachi had set out to teach his darling brother an important life lesson: fate was a bitter bitch that waited for no one. It would serve Sasuke well to remember that and what better way to place emphasis on an important life lesson than using the love of one's life? Itachi certainly couldn't think of another way.

"I'll play." Sasuke took a seat right across from Naruto, who smiled at him.

"You've never beat me Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked but it held no amusement. "Never say never." He mentally berated himself as he remembered a key fact: he was an Uchiha and Uchiha's didn't give up simply because they failed once.

Failure was not an option and Pein was but a momentary obstacle, much like Sakura.

And much like Sakura, it would pass.

* * *

"I'm going to bed but you can come up when your done if you want to Naru. Good luck!" Ino kissed Naruto's cheek before making her way to the stairs.

She was the last remaining onlooker of what a drunken Lee had dubbed "The Poker Game of Epic Proportions". Everyone else had either drunkenly passed out, went to bed, or had fallen asleep watching. Or, in the case of Hinata and Shikamaru, they'd gracefully bowed out of the game in favor of going elsewhere on account of the suffocating ill-intent radiating from Sauske. How he was still so pissed after drinking so much, no one was sure. But all that remained in the game were Sasuke, Naruto, Itachi, and Pein...

"Take that bitches, royal flush!" Naruto wolfishly grinned as he pulled all of the chips in the middle of the table towards his growing pile.

"My, my... you've beaten me yet again. I suppose it was inevitable." Itachi stood from the table and paused beside Naruto, his hand resting on the boy's shoulder. "Give them hell Naruto." He winked and headed upstairs. Though Itachi would have enjoyed watching the coming show, it wouldn't occur if he were present.

What a shame.

"And then there were three." The tips of Pein's fingers brushed over Naruto's hand as he passed him the cards.

"Will you just deal the fucking cards already." Sasuke was irritated. No, scratch that. He was pissed the fuck off, tipsy, and felt a strong desire to smash his fist into the side of Pein's face. All night long he'd had to sit and watch as Naruto and Pein sat across from him flirting and coyly touching one another... and with every passing minute of watching them fuck around, Sasuke's agitation mounted.

Naruto scoffed. "What? Is it that time of the month for you already bastard? You mad bro? You mad?" He laughed to himself when Sasuke frowned. There was one thing that he'd always enjoyed about a sloshed Sasuke: the fact that he emoted all over the place. It was such a rare thing for an Uchiha to be so... expressive. Usually Sasuke was pretty funny, easily irritable, and quick witted... being visibly pissed was new but still interesting to see.

Sasuke emoting... it was one of many things that Naruto liked about Sasuke in general.

"Fuck off..."

Naruto laughed. "You mad bro. It's cool." He picked up his cards and inwardly smirked as he surveyed the other two. Pein's bridge piercing twitched, which meant his hand was shit but he'd play it like it wasn't. Sasuke's dark eyes moved slightly left, then right, and left again... he had, at most, two good cards to show for.

What people seemed to forget when it came to Naruto was the fact that he was actually very observant. It was their miscalculation and he was always able to use that to his advantage. And what better place for Naruto to exercise such a skill than in a friendly game of poker (with a winning pot of $600).

"All in." Pein pushed forth his remaining chips.

"Fold." Sasuke knew without a doubt that Naruto was about to wipe Pein out and that worked in his favor. At least, if luck decided to be on his side.

"All in it is." Naruto smiled. "What d'ya got?"

"Two pair, 8s and Jacks."

"Ah..." Naruto laid his cards flat and slid his hand over to reveal his win. "Full house."

Pein raised a pierced brow, his interest entirely piqued. He'd just lost in poker... well, there was a first time for everything. And damn it if it didn't make him want to keep Naruto. "Itachi said you were a poker tycoon but I didn't believe him." He pushed away from the table and prepared to leave but not before properly parting ways. He leaned on the table beside Naruto and pushed aside thick blond bangs. "Call me tomorrow." He kissed the side of that teasing neck and was tempted to go further... very tempted.

Naruto tilted his head a bit to accommodate Pein. "Alright. Night." He placed a quick kiss to Pein's cheek before the man left. To the world, Naruto would seem rather nonchalant about everything that had just transpired between he and Pein, however, they both knew otherwise. His stomach was fluttering and his flattery meter was off the charts.

Exploring a new relationship was always an exciting thing and Naruto was no exception to that.

"Are you going to deal the fucking cards or are you going to sit there all night looking like a dumb ass because some jackass paid attention to you."

That was enough to bring Naruto back to reality. Cobalt irises narrowed dangerously. "You know, I'm pretty good when it comes to you being a bitch but you're pushing the limits of my ignore-the-dick-across-from-me tolerance." Maybe Sauske needed to get laid... speaking of getting laid, where was Sakura to fix that problem? "Did Sakura go home?"

"No. She's down the hall, probably asleep. We broke up."

Naruto winced at that. "Fuck... Sorry man. I- If it's because of what happened earlier-"

Sasuke scoffed. "It was an accumulation of a lot of bullshit, her issues with you among them." He shrugged. "But I guess it didn't really matter in the end, huh?"

A blond brow rose. "I'm not following..." Naruto felt like he was missing something. He felt bad that he was one of the reasons his best friend had parted ways with his girlfriend (and he'd feel worse the following day when his anger towards Sakura was long gone) but there was something about the way Sasuke had said all of that that confused him. "Why wouldn't it matter?"

"Because you couldn't just fucking wait for me could you?" Sasuke stood so abruptly, the table toppled over. He was still tipsy but damn it if he wasn't feeling a bit spiteful.

No sooner had he broken up with Sakura had Naruto ended up with someone else and he wanted to blame everyone but himself. But mostly he wanted to blame Naruto.

"Seriously Sasuke? Do you really wanna go there right now bastard?" Naruto let out a humorless chuckle as he too stood and ran a hand down his face. "What the fuck is your problem?" Because Naruto couldn't even begin to fathom why it hurt so much to know that Sasuke wanted him to wait for him.

To wait for him... that implied that he knew- had always known about his feelings but he'd... His chest hurt. He loved Sasuke. Loved him. Not in the platonic friend sort of way. Not in a brotherly fashion. Not even that fleeting puppy love that was reserved for hormonal teens. No, Naruto held a gut wrentching, soul yearning, passion for Sasuke that devoured him from the inside out. He could name all of the things that he loved and disliked about Sasuke. Even things that he didn't like he could sitll say that he loved those parts of Sasuke too. And yet, here Sasuke stood admitting that he knew and still he'd let him suffer through it all alone.

And for what?

Naruto honestly wanted to know. Why now? Why the sudden... He almost laughed again as his stomach clenched painfully and realization dawned on him. Sasuke wanted him... but only because Pein did. Old toy syndrome... Sasuke didn't want him because he liked him, no, he wanted him because someone else did. It all made so much sense now.

But that only made everything hurt so much more.

And confirmed that Sasuke was a selfish bastard, drunk or not.

Sasuke, who was completely dubious to Naruto's inner thoughts, stalked forth and grabbed the collar of Naruto's shirt. "You don't understand anything."

Before Naruto could register what was happening, Sasuke's lips were on his. And he felt repulsed, angry, hurt, wounded, vulnerable... with all of those negative emotions churning inside of him, Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him. "Don't you fucking touch me you bipolar asshole."

Sasuke pushed a hand through his hair before he focused his pitiless gaze on Naruto. "Don't touch you? Isn't this what you wanted?" He knew that everything spilling from his mouth- none of it was right and what he wanted to say wouldn't leave his tongue. Sasuke would regret it all but he couldn't stop himself. The prospect of losing Naruto to Pein (to anyone really) he couldn't imagine it. He couldn't entertain the idea of a life without Naruto in it. "You didn't deny liking me when Sakura asked and yet, now that I'm not with her, you don't care?" Sasuke scoffed. "And all because of that bastard Yahiko? He'll get over it if you end shit now because I can guarantee you that you're just another fuck-" Sasuke didn't get the cance to finish that sentence on account of Naruto's' fist firmly connecting with the right side of his jaw.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto glared down at Sasuke's slumped form as he unconsciously massaged his fist. He was so angry and he was in pain both mentally and physically... Furthermore, he had no idea who the bastard cradling his head on the floor in front of him was because it certainly wasn't the Sasuke that he knew. "I don't know and, quite frankly, I don't really give a damn about where all of this shit is coming from but leave me the fuck out of it." Naruto stepped over Sasuke and made his way upstairs towards Ino's room. He couldn't think straight and he hurt in an unfamiliar way.

He felt betrayed. And to be betrayed by Sasuke, by his best friend, his rival, his partner in crime, the man he loved... words couldn't begin to describe the way he felt.

"Fuck…" Sasuke stood up and glared at nothing in particular. He'd royally fucked up and did the complete opposite of what it was he'd initially intended to do. To top it all off, he felt like he was going to be sick.

What a perfect night.

* * *

"What's the deal Itachi?" Shikamaru blew out a long stream of smoke as he glanced at the eldest Uchiha heir.

Itachi shrugged. "That depends upon what you're insinuating, don't you think so Shika?" He lit his own cigarette before resuming his study of Shikamaru's handsome face. The boy was a constant reminder that Naruto and Sasuke did indeed have intelligent friends. But it mattered not because Itachi knew with absolute certainty that he was both wiser and smarter.

"Pein... he's your's right?"

Ah... Itachi had been caught. Well, not really. He'd thought that Pein being under his command wasn't much of a secret- to which he was also right. Still...

"Don't misconstrue my intentions. I want both Naruto and Sasuke to be as happy as possible but Sasuke is a bit inept when it concerns affairs of the heart as well as a few other minor lessons that we all need to learn in life. And I, as his older brother, I take full responsibility in teaching him these things." He took much joy in torturing his stubborn younger brother during said lessons but it was to be expected. He couldn't very well be bored whilst teaching.

"And Pein's role?"

"A pawn needed to cease Naruto and Sasuke's stalemate. At least he was... I think he's taken a true romantic interest of sorts in Naruto." Which was a factor Itachi had prepared for so he wasn't worried. It paid to be both twenty steps ahead and behind one's foe. "But this is for their own good and they'll- well, Sasuke will thank me later."

Shikamaru caught the 'do not tell Naruto' subtext. "Damn..." As much as he disliked Itachi's methods or Itachi in general, Shikamaru couldn't deny that the man was right. Sasuke and Naruto needed a push in the right direction but... still... Itachi's game was risky.

He didn't have full control of his pieces and it could all end unexpectedly if he wasn't careful.

Itachi tsked as he let his cigarette dangle between his fingers. "You have no faith in me."

Shikamaru snubbed out his cigarette and stood. "Whether or not I have faith in you is irrelevant."

"You ready?"

Shikamaru cast Pein a sideways glance as he stepped outside. There was something about the guy that he didn't like... it was mostly the fact that Pein was one of Itachi's _friends_ and Shikamaru knew what type of _friends_ Itachi kept. "I'm going to say this and I'm only going to say it once. If either you end up hurting Naruto, I will personally fuck up your life." There was a special place in Shikamaru's heart that belonged to Naruto alone and he wouldn't stand for seeing the boy hurt on account of Itachi's whims.

Or anyone else's for that matter.

Pein cocked an eyebrow as he stared between Itachi and Shikamaru. "Contrary to whatever this bastard's told you, you have nothing to worry about where it concerns me." He could respect a kid for defending the honor of their friend but really, he hadn't pinned Shikamaru as the type. "But you seem like a smart kid, so I'll hold you to that threat." He nodded at Itachi, incline his head in the direction of his car.

"I'll see you at another time then." Itachi held up a hand in passing.

Shikamaru watched as the two left. He didn't believe neither Itachi nor Pein so he would just place all of his faith in Naruto. That boy had a way with miracles.

* * *

"Why the hell are you being so damn loud?" Ino rubbed her eyes irritably as she tried to focus on the boy noisily moving around her room. She'd been asleep prior to him entering so she fully expected him to have a damn good excuse for waking her up.

Naruto paused in taking off his shirt to stare at Ino. "Sasuke is an insensitive prick." Which was an understatement in comparison to everything else Naruto wanted to say about Sasuke but it summed it all up for the time being.

"Tell me something that I didn't know already..." She rolled her eyes as she sat up and turned on the lamp beside her bed. "What happened after I left?" Ino was tired but Naruto... he didn't look good.

He looked crushed.

Naruto pushed a hand through thick blond tresses before he sat at the edge of her bed. "Sasuke... that bastard knew how I felt about him and he... he was expecting me to just wait until he was done doing whatever the fuck it was he does."

Ino frowned. "Are you sure..." Because she hoped to god that he wasn't.

"He said it from his own mouth Ino. So yea, I'm pretty fucking sure." Naruto sighed and buried his face in the palms of his hands. "Sorry... sorry... I just... why does that hurt? Why does knowing that hurt so much?" He felt heartbroken.

"Wait... tell me everything that happened. Start from the beginning." Because Ino had a gut feeling that Naruto was missing something or had misinterpreted something... or so she hoped.

So Naruto told her about everything that had happened, from start to finish. He told her about poker, about their playful banter, about Sasuke's being drunk, about their argument, about his punching Sasuke... Dear god... he'd hit Sasuke. He'd actually been so mad that he'd lost control and hit the bastard. Granted it was deserved, it wasn't something that Naruto would usually do. Ugh...

Only Sasuke could provoke him in such a way, which was ironic simply because that was one of the reasons he loved him.

Ino fully sat up and turned on the lamp beside her bed. "So lemme see if I'm following. Sasuke broke up with Sakura?"

"Yea."

"Which brings me back to what happened earlier. Did you really sleep with Hinata?"

Naruto sighed and rubbed the nape of his neck. "I did but, that was an accident... I didn't mean to-"

Ino waved her hand dismissively. "I don't really care, I mean, I do. But only because Sakura knew something about you that I didn't." Which slightly ticked her off but it couldn't be helped. "But it's fine, I get it. Now, did Sasuke tell you why he broke up with Sakura?"

"No... we didn't get that far because he was being an asshole. I told you he said some shit about me liking him and how I wasn't taking advantage of a prime opportunity... something to that affect." Naruto frowned at the memory.

Ino smiled softly as she slid to the edge of the bed near Naruto and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Boys... they were so clueless when it came to love. Ino knew that Sasuke was in love with Naruto and vice versa but neither of them knew how to go about reaching the next step. And it was a tricky thing, stepping over that friend line. The other side of the proverbial line was unknown territory which was scary. There was the possibility that the relationship wouldn't work out and if that happened, there was an even higher probability that the original friendship couldn't be salvaged.

On another note entirely, Sasuke probably had good intentions, however, drunk or not, he'd said all of the wrong things and in the wrong way. H'd have Naruto's ass to kiss for quite some time and Naruto certainly knew how to hold a grudge against him in particular. Still... she didn't think that Sasuke knew anything about Naruto's affection towards him. She was pretty positive that he was referring to his own, personal situation. He was selfish and he'd probably assumed that Naruto would always just be there whenever he found the balls to make a move.

"You know what the worst thing about all of this is?"

Ino stared at Naruto throught their reflections in the mirror on her bedroom wall. "What?"

"He only wants me because Pein does. That selfish bastard... he... I know I'm about to sound like a whiny bitch but he hurt my feelings. Like, in the most literal sense of that figurative expression, Sasuke hurt my feelings."

Ino noted how crushed Naruto looked and she cooed before she pulled him to her bosom like any other respective mother (substitute) would. "I know he did but I don't think it was intentional. Sasuke just doesn't know how to express that sort of thing... never has." Because everyone knew his track record.

"Not intentional... He's had forever to-"

"So have you. But you're both idiots. Sasuke loves you Naruto and he always has, he just didn't realize it until recently. The same could be said for you. But it's a scary thing, making the transition from friends to lovers. No one knows what to expect when breaching that barrier and the both of you are no different. You've tip-toed around this matter for years now and no one blames you. The unknown is a frightening thing." Ino knew this better than anyone else. "The real question is, what do you want to do?"

What did he want? Naruto frowned. "I don't want to just jump into anything with that bastard. It'd be like rewarding him when he didn't do anything to deserve and I don't think he knows what it is he's asking for or wants from me. He'd need to prove that he was serious because this isn't a game or a whim to me." Naruto now knew to some extent that Sasuke wasn't opposed to being with him but that didn't mean that they should be in a relationship just because it was known that their feelings were mutual.

Everything that had happened that night was proof that they couldn't just _be_ in a relationship.

Things didn't work like that.

Naruto knew Sasuke better than most anyone else and because of this, he knew that Sasuke just expected things to happen when he wanted them to. But life didn't work like that. People didn't work like that. Sasuke was selfish and spoiled to a certain degree. Naruto wasn't going to perpetuate that side of Sasuke, not this time. His love wasn't a game or a whim, it was real.

He wouldn't risk ruining their friendship for a romantic relationship that he would possibly regret at some point.

Nothing was worth that.

If Sasuke really wanted him as a lover of any kind, he'd have to somehow show or prove to Naruto that he wasn't fucking around because Naruto knew that, without a doubt, if their relationship were to fail, there was no going back to being friends. And he would be sure to tell Sasuke as much the next time he saw him.

"Sounds fair enough. Do you feel better now?"

Naruto nodded awkwardly against Ino's bosom. "Yea. Thanks Ino." He actual felt worlds better now that his mind was clear. Only a woman's touch could have that type of effect and Naruto was grateful.

Were it not for Ino, he and Sasuke wouldn't have been talking anytime soon.

"I'm glad." Ino pulled Naruto backwards onto the mattress with her. "Now tell me all about Pein! I needs to know!"

Naruto smirked. "Well..."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N: **Okay... where to start... I'll probably start here with these two really awesome unsigned reviews from Anon and Iliketrains that spurred and fully ignited my inspiration so that I could quickly complete the chapter:

**_"ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) Y U NO UPDATE IN ONE YEAR? I thought you said it wouldn't take you nearly a year. It's already 2012! We're all going to die before you even update which is really depressing. Please update 'cause you gots a lot of people waiting._**"

"**_What! No update? It's been like what... a month ?I thought you said it wouldn't take as nearly as long as a year (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ ... I mean yeah you probably have finals but stilll update pleaaaassseeee_**"

I'm hardcore addicted to Tumblr and it's many memes (the link to my tumblr is my homepage if you're curious but it's just filled with yaoi) so these particular reviews tickled my Tumblr kink so yes... I love you random anon and Iliketrains. Which isn't to say that I don't love the rest of you. I just love people who bring Tumblr into my life outside of the Tumblr domain even more. Yep...

Anywho, this chapter was a bitch. It's supper long, nearly entirely written from scratch, and filled with all kinds of things that I wrote and re-wrote until it was perfect. I've been working on it for 12 hours straight (not to say that I didn't touch prior to that) after not sleeping for 26 but, when inspiration hits, you just have to roll with it.

With that, I hope you've enjoyed this long chapter. Seriously, it's way longer than any of the other chapters but I wanted to wrap up this one night... couldn't drag it on in another chapter because that'd be ridiculous and one note-esque.

**Sai: **I know he's totally OOC but I needed a character like him and he was the only one I saw fit to take the role so... yep. I know he's not himself.

**FUN FACT: **For those of you who read the first version of this story, I wonder if you can tell that I've combined several chapters of the original into one chapter for every new chapter thus far. If you can't then I'll let you know that, technically, we just ended chapter eight of the old story. And that all sounded like some elaborate riddle.

**FUN FACT II:** Everything up until now... took place in the span of three days. That's right. I read over chapters 1-4 again and realized that these chapters go from Friday (when Naruto hooked up with Hinata) to Sunday (currently the day of the slumber party).

**Anyway... everyone sans those mentioned below can skip this part but I'd feel bad if I didn't respond to these lengthy unsigned reviews considering I respond to all of the signed ones.**

**Thanks for the unsigned** **reviews:** Tessss (Sadly it's not but you'll have your fair share, I promise), MrsUchihaClan (your wish was granted btw), and of course _**Anon**_ and _**Iliketrains**_.

_Alara Phoenix:_ Look, look, I updated! Does this make you happy? I hope so. Also, I loved the book you wrote me. Thank you ^u^

__ (12/3/2011): _OMJay-Z I hope your throat is okay! I have those moments too... and my mom does the same. Hahahaha of Anon who kicked me into shape! I appreciate you so much... are you by chance the anon again mentioned above? Because, if so, you did it once again! Thank you ^u^

_sephshallcountthepenises:_ Did I update fast enough for you hmm? Thank you for lurking and reviewing! I always love it when I get a lurker review. Makes me feel some kind of special.

_Dareaholic_: You were so close... twas Pein who got the lap dance but Sasuke got the kiss!

_33dragonlily33_: I'm glad you love me still, despite my slowness in completing this thing. It's a beast, let me tell you. But I did better than last time right? Right? ^u^

* * *

**So if you dug it, drop me a line.**


End file.
